Brown well represented in Fort Marcy, Sheepshead Bay

The undercard stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday, the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay and the Grade 3 Fort Marcy, will be run as races 6 and 10 on the 12-race card.

The $150,000 Fort Marcy, a 1 1/8-mile turf race, has drawn a competitive field of nine, including three major players from the Chad Brown barn – Robert Bruce, Silverwave, and Ticonderoga. Other contenders include Lucullan, Manitoulin, Blacktype, and Spring Quality.

While Ticonderoga is coming off a sharp second-level optional-claiming victory, the form of the other Brown runners is difficult to read. Robert Bruce was 6 for 6 in his native Chile, and Silverwave is a high-level French import.

Robert Bruce will be making his first start since winning the El Ensayo Mega, the biggest turf race in Chile, last October. Robert Bruce came from sixth while overcoming traffic in the stretch to win the right-handed 1 1/2-mile race by two lengths.

“He’s shown me a very, very strong turn of foot,” Brown said.

Silverwave, is 7 for 20 with earnings of $820,000. He won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Group 2 Prix Foy in 2016 and the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly last year. He was privately purchased by Martin Schwartz before his most recent race, the Arc de Triomphe in October. The 6-year-old has worked five times for Brown.

“He might be a work or two short, but I want to run him and see if I can bring him back in the Manhattan,” Brown said.

The Grade 1, $1 million Manhattan is a 1 1/4-mile turf race on the June 9 Belmont Stakes card.

Ticonderoga ran a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure in his 1 1/16-mile victory at Aqueduct.

“I’m still trying to figure out his best distance,” Brown said.

The $200,000 Sheepshead Bay, a 1 3/8-mile turf race, has attracted seven fillies and mares topped by Holy Helena and Santa Monica.

Holy Helena made half of her starts last year at 3 on the Tapeta at Woodbine. She defeated males in the $1 million Queen’s Plate three weeks after defeating fillies in the Woodbine Oaks. She was named the top Canadian-bred 3-year-old filly at the April 19 Sovereign Awards ceremony.

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens moved Holy Helena to turf for her two starts this year, both at Gulfstream Park, and she responded with a February optional-claiming victory and a win in the Grade 3 The Very One. She is now 5 for 8.

Santa Monica was clearly best in winning a second-level allowance in her U.S. debut for Brown. She broke last in that 1 1/2-mile turf race, began to advance from last after six furlongs, worked her way forward through traffic nearing the far turn, then pulled away to score by four lengths.

The win was only Santa Monica’s third from 23 starts but should serve as a confidence builder for the 5-year-old, who has primarily raced in Ireland. She will face a stiffer challenge from Holy Helena.

– additional reporting by David Grening