Going Day seeks better race position

ELMONT, N.Y. - In her first two starts in North America, Going Day was too far off the pace. In her most recent race, she was right on it. If she can perhaps find some middle ground, she could find the winner's circle in Friday's featured first-level allowance race at Belmont Park.

A field of 10 is entered in the $56,000 allowance scheduled for 1 1/4 miles over Belmont's inner turf course. Going Day will break from the outside under Garrett Gomez.

Going Day, a daughter of Daylami, has recorded her lone victory from nine starts at the 1 1/4-mile distance. That race came in France in 2006 when she tracked the pace in a 10-horse field.

Going Day came to trainer Graham Motion earlier this year, and as European horses are wont to do, she broke somewhat slowly in her first two starts here, finishing third in a race at Delaware and second at Saratoga.

On Aug. 29, also at Saratoga, jockey Ramon Dominguez asked Going Day leaving the gate and she found herself on the pace for all but the final few jumps of the 1 3/16-mile race. She fought Prom Party hard through the stretch, but was beaten a neck.

"He asked her away from there and got straight into it," Motion said. "I don't think it's necessarily where she wants to be."

It may be where she wants to be on Friday as this race doesn't appear to be coming up with much speed. Only Oh Deanne O has shown the desire to be forwardly placed.

Communique, trained by Rusty Arnold, is the only member of this field who is dropping in class after running in three graded stakes. Communique finished a decent fourth in the Grade 1 American Oaks at Hollywood Park in July before finishing fifth in the Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga on Aug. 17.

"She's run hard all year and I don't think she's run a bad race," Arnold said. "She's one of those that's always coming, always coming, always coming. We wanted to go a little bit further with her, but the [Lake Placid] was a mile and an eighth and the turf was hard and they weren't coming back to her."

Arnold believes that "with a little bit of luck" Communique could have been third in the American Oaks.

"I think she's doing great," Arnold said. "I'm wanting to go even a little further with her."

Crystal Minuet, trained by Bill Mott, comes off a troubled fourth in her last start.