Brown pair break from inside in Gazelle

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In addition to having two horses entered in Saturday’s Grade 1 Wood Memorial, trainer Chad Brown has a pair of contenders Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Gazelle Stakes for 3-year-old fillies.

Clair de Lune and Lewis Bay drew posts 1 and 2 for the Gazelle, a 1 1/8-mile race that offers a total of 170 qualifying points to the top four finishers toward the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6.

Lewis Bay likely will be favored as she returns to the track and distance of her Grade 2 Demoiselle win last November. In her 3-year-old debut, Lewis Bay finished second, seven lengths behind the undefeated Cathryn Sophia, in the Grade 2 Davona Dale.

Clair de Lune may get less attention at the windows, but she is coming off a pair of two-turn victories over Aqueduct’s inner track.

“She’s really come around, developed nicely, and deserves a chance at a race like this,” Brown said.

The seven-horse field includes Mo d’Amour, Dreams to Reality, Royal Obsession, Behrnik’s Bank, and Flora Dora.

The Gazelle goes as race 8.