SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Keri Brion knows she has a tough act to follow. An 11-year assistant to the Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, Brion took over the stable after Sheppard announced his retirement in January. Sheppard left an indelible mark on Saratoga, winning at least one race for 47 consecutive meets, a streak that included six wins in the A.P. Smithwick and 15 in the New York Turf Writers Cup, the two steeplechase staples at Saratoga. Beginning this year, the New York Turf Writers has been renamed the Jonathan Sheppard. This week, Brion will start her first horses at Saratoga, with two runners in Wednesday’s $75,000 Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes and three of the six horses entered in Thursday’s Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick. “It’s surreal,” Brion said. “It hasn’t hit me. These are things you dream of. I can’t believe I have half the field.” Brion sends out French Light, Baltimore Bucko, and Galway Kid in the Smithwick, run at 2 1/16 miles over national fences. On paper, French Light’s form doesn’t look so hot. He has lost all five of his starts this year, all in Ireland, where Brion spent the winter. But Brion said the competition in Ireland is stiff and noted that French Light was a 5 1/4-length allowance winner here in 2020. “Racing over there is very, very difficult and much, much different,” Brion said. “He was bought as an American horse, and the way he ran in Saratoga and won last year and the way he’s training, I think he’ll put on a really good show.” Baltimore Bucko also had some difficulty in Ireland, but came back to finish second, beaten a head, in the Green Pastures at Percy Warner in Nashville on June 26. Brion said that two starts back Baltimore Bucko was on his way to victory in Ireland when he fell over the last fence. Both French Night and Baltimore Bucko would have been eligible for Wednesday’s novice stakes, but Brion opted for this spot, in part because the race came up with only six. Galway Kid beat Gibralfaro – also in the Smithwick – by a neck in the Grade 3 David Semmes Memorial at Great Meadow in May. Brion stepped Galway Kid up to the Grade 1 Iroquois and he was eased behind Snap Decision. Brion said Galway Kid came out of that race very sick and noted that last year he ran well behind Snap Decision, who has won nine consecutive races. Brion is slightly concerned that Galway Kid doesn’t have the turn of foot that might be needed in races contested at Saratoga where, without a final stretch fence, it basically becomes a flat race for the final half-mile. Redicean, trained by Leslie Young, won the Kiser Stakes here in 2019 and last year finished fourth in the Smithwick and second in the New York Turf Writers. He has not run in 11 months and is the 154-pound highweight, conceding 6 to 12 pounds to the rest of the field. Jack Fisher, a four-time Smithwick winner and recently elected into the Hall of Fame, sends out Gibralfaro and Cite, who won over the jumps here in 2019 but has raced just once since. The Smithwick goes as the first race on a 10-race card that begins at 1:05 p.m. Mott saddles Peruvian runner The $100,000 Stillwater Stakes for New York-bred 2-year-old fillies did not have enough entries to be carded, so Thursday’s flat feature is a second-level allowance for females on turf at 1 3/8 miles. Birdie Queen, a 6-year-old who has been racing in Peru, is making her U.S. debut and first start for trainer Bill Mott. She is proven at the distance, but her quality remains unclear. “This is a fact-finding mission,” Mott said. “You’d think the distance would be fine; she’s run well at a mile and a quarter.” Lovely Lucky won a first-level allowance here last July 24 at this distance before finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Glens Falls and last in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl. In her lone start this year, Lovely Lucky was eighth in the Grade 3 La Prevoyante at Gulfstream in January. Jose Ortiz rides for Tom Albertrani. :: Visit DRF's Saratoga shop for all your handicapping needs: Past performances, picks, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more Trainer Graham Motion sends out the uncoupled entry of Cat’s Pajamas, second in this condition at Pimlico and Delaware, and Mia Martina, third in the Christiana Stakes at Delaware Park on July 3.