Lewis Bay earns shot at, gulp, Songbird

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The good news is that Lewis Bay won Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Gazelle and came out of the race well. The bad news is that that win earns her a shot in the $1 million Kentucky Oaks, where she will have to take on the undefeated Songbird, who may just be the best 3-year-old of either gender.

“It’s a tall order, but it’s a horse race, and it’s a big purse, and it’s a prestigious race,” trainer Chad Brown said Sunday. “If Lewis Bay’s healthy, she’ll give it a try.”

Lewis Bay won the Gazelle by 1 1/2 lengths over Royal Obsession, winning for the third time in five starts. The Gazelle, run on a muddy track, is her second victory at 1 1/8 miles, the distance of the Kentucky Oaks.

“She’s won a pair of stakes at a mile and an eighth, and now she’s shown the ability to handle an off track,” Brown said. “She’s a very consistent, honest little filly that’s improving. We’ll take her to Churchill and take our chances.”

◗ One of the more impressive performances Saturday was turned in by Happyness, a 4-year-old Britain-bred daughter of Verglas who came off a yearlong layoff to win a first-level allowance race on turf by 3 1/4 lengths in her U.S. debut.

Brown received Happyness last summer and almost had her ready to run at Saratoga before she developed a problem and was sent to the farm.

“She’s an exciting horse for the year,” said Brown, who trains Happyness for Michael Dubb, Great Point Stables, and Bethlehem Stables.

Brown said he thinks Happyness wants to run farther than the 1 1/16 miles of Saturday’s race, and he plans to stretch her out.