Chalon prepped and ready for the Bed o' Roses

ELMONT, N.Y. – Chalon got an extended vacation over the winter, and she’s come back as good as she left. Second last year in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in her final start of 2018, she won the listed Skipat at Pimlico on May 17, and will try to keep her 2019 campaign perfect when she heads the field on Friday in the Grade 3, $250,000 Bed o’ Roses at Belmont Park.

Chalon did not return to the races until last month owing, trainer Arnaud Delacour said, to his desire to give Chalon time to recover from a minor injury, and his wanting to bring Chalon back in a race that would keep her away from the division’s best.

“She had a bit of bone bruising,” Delacour said from the Fair Hill Training Center, where he is based. “And I didn’t want to come back too early. There are Grade 1 races at Keeneland and Churchill Downs, but I didn’t want to do that. I thought it would be very demanding to come back going seven-eighths in Grade 1 company.”

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The Skipat was a means to an end. It was just six furlongs, and Chalon was the odds-on favorite against eight rivals. She won comfortably, by two lengths. Now she goes seven furlongs in the Bed o’ Roses, a race Delacour hopes moves Chalon on to main targets this summer at Saratoga.

“I’m really happy to go seven-eighths with a race under her belt,” he said.

Seven are entered in the Bed o’ Roses, including Separationofpowers, winner of the Grade 1 Test last summer at Saratoga. The Bed o’ Roses goes as race 5.

KEY CONTENDERS

Chalon, by Dialed In

Last 3 Beyers: 91-91-93

◗ She fires every time. She has finished first or second in her last eight starts.

◗ In the Skipat, she settled just off the pace and then attacked.

“I was very happy with her. She wasn’t too aggressive,” Delacour said. “I thought she might be, coming off the layoff.”

◗ Javier Castellano has ridden her in her last three starts and is back aboard.

Separationofpowers, by Candy Ride

Last 3 Beyers: 89-84-93

◗ She was third of five in her lone start this year, the Grade 3 Vagrancy here on May 11, her first start following a layoff of more than seven months owing to having a chip removed from an ankle.

◗ She got loose during training hours on Tuesday and was caught by an outrider. Her trainer, Chad Brown, on Wednesday said she was fine.

◗ Jose Ortiz has ridden her in all eight of her starts and has a return call.

Pacific Gale, by Flat Out

Last 3 Beyers: 94-98-83

◗ She was an unlucky loser of the Vagrancy, finishing second by a neck after getting stuck inside owing to her rail draw. She finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of Separationofpowers.

Dawn the Destroyer, by Speightstown

Last 3 Beyers: 88-86-87

◗ She was fourth in the Vagrancy on a day when trainer Kiaran McLaughlin believes she may have been compromised by a surface that promoted speed.

“She fits with these, but she needs everything to go properly,” McLaughlin said.