Legal Consent ends long break

ELMONT, N.Y - Legal Consent and House of Grace, stakes winners last year, return from layoffs in Thursday's co-featured allowance races at Belmont Park.

Legal Consent, who makes his first start since a runner-up finish in the Hudson last fall, drew the outside post in race 3, a $52,000 high-level allowance sprint for New York-breds.

From 10 starts last year as a 3-year-old, Legal Consent won or placed seven times, including a win in the Mike Lee. Trained by Carlos Martin, Legal Consent has posted two recent bullet workouts for his 4-year-old debut. A good effort could propel him into the John Morrissey, a $75,000 sprint at Saratoga on Aug. 5.

On Thursday, he will face Law Enforcement, Driven by Success, and Dr. W, who ran first, second, and fifth in last year's Morrissey.

As the 2-5 favorite in the Morrissey, Driven by Success was softened up in a pace duel with Dr. W, which paved the way for Law Enforcement to rally from last to win going away.

Driven by Success snapped a five-race losing streak on Memorial Day, when he turned in a huge performance to beat open allowance sprinters after lunging at the break and spotting the field several lengths.

The Pat Kelly-trained entry of Naughty New Yorker and Good Card complete the field.

House of Grace makes her 3-year-old debut in race 7, a $55,000 second-level allowance scheduled for a mile on the Widener turf. The race also attracted Consequence, winner of the American 1000 Guineas last year, and the razor-sharp statebred Ms Stilleto.

House of Grace won her first two starts, including the off-the-turf Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland, and was purchased by Godolphin Racing and sent to Dubai following a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

"The intention was to take her to Europe to race, but she never really trained all that well and the decision was made to send her back with the U.S. string," said Rick Mettee, the New York-based assistant for Saeed bin Suroor. "We haven't done a tremendous amount of work with her, but [Ramon] Dominguez was on her for the two five-eighths works and seemed to think she was pretty fit. We thought a one-turn mile was a good spot, as opposed to running in the Lake George first time back."

The Lake George is a Grade 2, $150,000 race at Saratoga on July 28.

Absolute Heaven, Granted Tiger, and Hot Trip also entered for turf.