Belmont at the Big A | Race 3 | Post Time 2:15 p.m. (ET) When Star Fortress (#2) first came to the United States and was transferred to Cherie DeVaux by the ownership, she looked like a prime candidate to excel in marathon races here. Her only victory overseas had come at 1 1/4 miles, and she was stakes-placed going as far as 12 furlongs. Horses with proclivities to handle demanding distances in Europe typically thrive in marathon races in North America. However, Star Fortress wound up on a different path. DeVaux placed her in the Grade 3 Cardinal at Churchill last fall, a race that was coming up a little light for the level. Star Fortress not only won the race in a minor upset, she absolutely demolished the field, drawing off by 10 lengths with a massive 127 TimeformUS Speed Figure. Surely, the shorter distance was the key to her success. Or was it? Since then Star Fortress has been a major disappointment, unable to reproduce that form while failing to hit the board and beating a combined three rivals home across her last three starts. In retrospect, perhaps it wasn’t the shorter distance that aided her, but rather a demanding turf course in late November that her American rivals failed to handle. Since then, she’s lacked a turn of foot, looking much more like the one-paced type she appeared to be in Europe. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense that the next step would be to stretch her out, and DeVaux has found a good spot in the Grade 3 Sheepshead Bay. This grey Sea The Stars mare obviously needs to step forward to upset the likes of heavy favorite McKulick (#4), but Star Fortress has had some excuses in her recent losses. She steadied out of position early at Gulfstream in January before making a wide run. She was then compromised by a severe lack of pace in both the Hillsborough and Jenny Wiley, the latter a race also dominated by horses who rode the rail as she was relegated to a wide trip. Beating a classy Chad Brown trainee like McKulick won’t be easy, but Star Fortress is finally getting a chance to do what she’s supposed to excel at, and her true quality may be closer to that Cardinal victory than her recent form suggests. As the potential third choice in this race, she’s the right value play.