Good Long Cry seeks stalking trip in turf allowance
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ELMONT, N.Y. – The well-traveled Good Long Cry will make Belmont Park the 10th stop on her tour of North America’s turf courses when she runs in a second-level allowance scheduled for one mile that goes as the first but serves as the feature on Friday’s nine-race card.
Good Long Cry, a 4-year-old Florida-bred daughter of Long On Value, will be making her 16th start but just third of this year. She finished fourth in a money allowance at Ellis Park before finishing second in a second-level allowance/optional claimer on Sept. 3 at Kentucky Downs.
Trainer George Weaver elected to bring her back to New York because the same conditioned race as this at Keeneland is run at 1 1/8 miles. Moreover, as she is not a Kentucky-bred, Good Long Cry would only be running for a fraction of the purse there as well.
“She’s a filly that if she can stay in a relaxed, comfortable mode she’s capable of running a decent race,” Weaver said. “I really don’t want to run her a mile and an eighth. A mile is better for her than a mile and an eighth. She’s just a little too keen for a mile and an eighth.”
Good Long Cry finished her 3-year-old season with an allowance win at The Meadowlands and a victory in a high-priced claimer at Churchill Downs.
In a race that does not appear to have much early speed, Good Long Cry may be able to sit an up-close stalking trip under Jose Lezcano. Stillthinkingofyou, a five-time winner trained by Derek Ryan, looms the potential speed of this field.
La Ceiba, a 4-year-old French-bred filly, is making her U.S. debut and first start in 13 months in this spot. She was purchased by West Point Thoroughbreds and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables last year and was training at Payson Park during the winter before she suffered a setback, according to Christophe Lorieul, assistant to trainer Miguel Clement.
“We gave her some time off. She came back to me middle to late July.” Lorieul said. “We always liked her. . . . She’s back in full work [mode]. I just hope she’s tight enough.”
Antonio Fresu is named to ride.
Getting Serious is back in allowance company after finishing sixth in the Old Dominion Oaks on Sept. 7 at Colonial Downs. She did break slow that day, tried to make a wide rally into a slow pace, and was beaten five lengths by Storm’s Wake.
That race was run at 1 1/8 miles. Trainer Shug McGaughey, who is off to a 5-for-10 start at the meet, likes the turnback to a mile for Getting Serious, a 3-year-old daughter of Hard Spun.
“It might help because there should be a little more pace in front of her,” McGaughey said.
Trainer Chad Brown has the pair of Growth Trajectory and Marketplaceofideas in this field. Growth Trajectory is coming off a third-place finish, beaten two lengths, in this same condition at Aqueduct in June. Marketplaceofideas is coming off a seventh-place finish in this condition Aug. 5.
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