Clement, Brown duel in Noble Damsel
Trainer Christophe Clement goes for his sixth victory in the Grade 3, $200,000 Noble Damsel Stakes when he sends out the potent duo of Stormy Victoria and Akatea against a pair of Chad Brown-trained runners and several others in the one-mile turf race for fillies and mares Saturday at Belmont Park.
Stormy Victoria and Akatea have combined to win all three of their turf starts at Belmont. Stormy Victoria won a seven-furlong allowance race here in July before finishing second in the De La Rose at Saratoga.
Akatea was also an allowance winner at Belmont during the summer and finished fourth as the favorite in an allowance at Saratoga in August.
“She was not training as well up there,” Clement said of Akatea. “She’s going to love the one-turn mile.”
Stormy Victoria will break from post 7 in the field of eight under John Velazquez. Akatea will break from the rail under Joel Rosario.
Brown will seek his first Noble Damsel victory with Zindaya and Mrs McDougal. Zindaya is 4 for 6 at Belmont Park, including a 3 1/2-length score in the Intercontinental going seven furlongs in June.
“She’s doing very, very well,” Brown said. “We’ve been pointing to this race for a while.”
Mrs McDougal is dropping out of a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga. Her last victory came at a mile in the Plenty of Grace Stakes at Aqueduct. That day, she beat Strike Charmer, who has since returned to win two stakes, including the Grade 2 Ballston Spa.
In a race without a lot of pace, Mrs McDougal is a candidate to wire this field.
“She’s been freshened since the Diana, has been training, has run well fresh in the past, and a mile looks like it fits for her,” Brown said.
Four others were entered in the Noble Damsel, but one of them, The Tea Cups, also was entered in Sunday’s $125,000 John Hettinger for New York-breds. Trainer Jeremiah Englehart said Thursday he was leaning toward running in the Hettinger.
Bureau de Change, Mah Jong Maddnes, and My Sweet Girl complete the Noble Damsel field.
Key Contenders
Stormy Victoria, by Stormy River
Last 3 Beyers: 98-91-89
◗ Clement said she was simply second-best when beaten by Lady Lara in the De La Rose, a two-turn-mile race at Saratoga.
◗ Both of her wins at Belmont came at seven furlongs.
◗ She could be compromised by an apparent lack of pace.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Stormy Victoria. Trainer Christophe Clement is 17-9-1-1 with a $4.66 ROI over the past five years in turf route graded stakes with John Velazquez aboard. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Zindaya, by More Than Ready
Last 3 Beyers: 95-100-98
◗ Brown said she had a wide trip in the De La Rose when beaten two lengths.
◗ Her only off-the-board finish in six starts at Belmont was going a mile in July 2015, but she was a bit more headstrong then than she is now.
“She’s relaxed nicely,” Brown said. “I feel a mile will be no problem for her.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Zindaya. Trainer Chad Brown is 20-3-3-3 with a $1.16 ROI over the past five years in turf route graded stakes with Jose Lezcano aboard (3-0-0-1 in the past two years). Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Mrs McDougal, by Medaglia d’Oro
Last 3 Beyers: 94-97-98
◗ Shortens up from 1 1/8 miles to a mile, a distance at which she is 2 for 3 with a third in the Grade 1 Just a Game in June.
◗ Had been the workmate of Lady Eli, who finished second in the Ballston Spa in her first start off a layoff of nearly 14 months.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Mrs McDougal. Trainer Chad Brown is 36-12-6-2 with a $3.29 ROI over the past two years in turf route graded stakes on the NYRA circuit with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan