Clement has full deck in Beaugay, Fort Marcy stakes

While 3-year-olds get tested for stamina in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Park tests the staying power of its fans Saturday with a marathon card highlighted by the Beaugay and Fort Marcy, a pair of Grade 3 events each worth $150,000 and the first graded turf stakes of the New York season.

First post is noon Eastern, and post time for the 12th and final race is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. In the nearly eight hours in between, the Beaugay for older fillies and mares is race 8 at 4:20; the Fort Marcy for older males is race 10 at 5:48.

The 1 1/16-mile Beaugay, scheduled for the Widener turf, attracted eight grass-meant runners, half of whom are from the top turf barns of Chad Brown and Christophe Clement.

Brown sends out Waterway Run and Watsdachances.

Waterway Run may be a lukewarm favorite after twice getting beaten in photos to begin her U.S. career, the latest by a nose in the Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs.

Rain earlier in the week might work to the advantage of Watsdachances, who captured the Miss Grillo on yielding ground at 2 and makes her first start since winning a minor stakes on good turf last fall at Aqueduct.

Clement counters with Irish Mission, who has amassed most of her $1 million bankroll in Canada, and Orion Moon, who won her first two U.S. starts last summer and comes off a sharp try in her seasonal debut at Gulfstream Park.

Irish Mission, who beat males in the 2012 Breeders’ Stakes at Woodbine at 1 1/2 miles, makes her first start for Clement and her first since the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor last fall.

“She’s been with us all winter, and she’s training very well,” said Clement, who has won the Beaugay three times. “She’s running maybe a little bit short for her ... but if the ground is a bit tiring, it could become more of a stamina test.”

Assateague, Byrama, English Class, and Scampering also entered for turf. Natalie Victoria and Sunny Desert are listed as main-track-only entrants.

The Fort Marcy, won last spring by the Clement-trained Lubash in stakes-record time, has been lengthened from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/8 miles this year. It is scheduled for the inner turf.

Clement takes three shots with Manighar, Speaking of Which, and Summer Front.

Summer Front, a multiple graded stakes winner, might be a slight choice based on a win two starts ago in the Fort Lauderdale with a 102 Beyer Speed Figure.

Speaking of Which, the beaten favorite in the 2013 Fort Marcy, has been freshened since posting his two best U.S. races at the turn of the year.

Manighar will be a big price in his stateside and seasonal debut, but the 8-year-old is a Group 2 winner in his native France and a multiple Group 1 winner in Australia. His earnings of $3.6 million are more than his nine rivals combined, but it’s been more than two years since his last victory.

“He probably wants to go farther than this, and he might need a race,” Clement said.

Also going first time in the United States is Ghurair, a lightly raced 4-year-old who has turned in some promising grass workouts at Palm Meadows for Brown.

Swift Warrior, Unbridled Ocean, Seal Cove, Five Iron, Tetradrachm, and Sky Blazer also are entered.