OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Last week, trainer Chad Brown unveiled a good-looking European import in Sandtrap, who came off a lengthy layoff to win an allowance race at Aqueduct. Friday, at Aqueduct, he’ll attempt to do something similar when he sends out Matilda, a Group 2 stakes winner in Germany, for her U.S. debut in a conditioned allowance that kicks off a turf-heavy eight-race card. This one-mile allowance, which also sees Brown bringing the Grade 2 winner Grayosh back to the races, only drew a field of five and goes as the opener. Matilda, a German-bred daughter of Soldier Hollow, won 2 of 4 starts in Germany, including the Group 2 German 2000 Guineas by 6 1/2 lengths in May. Her only start since was the Group 1 Prix Rothschild in Deauville, where she finished 10th, 6 1/2 lengths behind Fallen Angel, who would go on to win two more Group 1s last fall. Perhaps the best evidence of how Brown feels about Matilda is that he has worked her in company five times this winter/spring with Gezora, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner who will make her first start for Brown in the Grade 3 Modesty at Churchill on May 1. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “She’s trained good with Gezora every week,” Brown said. Matilda has made all four of her starts at a mile, but Brown said he may explore stretching her out as the year goes along. Grayosh won the Grade 2 Lake Placid – beating She Feels Pretty – in 2024, but she hasn’t won since. Grayosh went 0 for 6 in 2025, with five fourth-place finishes. Brown said this one-mile distance “is a touch short for her” but is expecting her to run well in this spot. Being Betty is a New York-bred who beat open company in a first-level allowance at Gulfstream on Jan. 24 for trainer Lisa Bartkowski. She returns to turf after finishing second in a second-level allowance over Gulfstream’s synthetic. Macagna, who finished second in the Grade 2 Sands Point at Aqueduct in the fall of 2024, makes her first start for trainer Dominick Schettino in this spot. Patty Cakes, just claimed for $16,000, completes the compact field. In Friday’s fourth race, Brown drops the multiple Grade 1-winning New York-bred Spirit of St Louis into a statebred allowance looking to reverse the 7-year-old gelding’s recent poor form. Since winning the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs last May, Spirit of St Louis ran poorly in three graded stakes and, most recently, finished a non-threatening fourth in the Appleton at Gulfstream. He is eligible for this race under the condition “which have not won $40,000 since Oct. 24, 2025.” Spirit of St Louis is 5 for 5 – all stakes wins – over Aqueduct’s turf courses. Alternatives in this 10-horse field include Iron Max, a winner of three straight turf races last fall to end his 3-year-old campaign, and Sounds Like a Plan, who won two allowance races last fall before getting beat a half-length in the Mohawk Stakes last Oct. 25. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.