McGaughey double-teams them again in Friday allowance

ELMONT, N.Y. – On May 15, Shug McGaughey-trained runners finished 1-2 in a second-level allowance/optional $80,000 claimer going a mile at Belmont Park when Alandra rallied along the rail and outfinished a five-wide rallying Finding Fame.

Friday, when that same race is offered again at Belmont, only at 6 1/2 furlongs, McGaughey will again have two contenders in the race for fillies and mares. The Friday card also features a $260,473 carryover in the pick six after the bet went unhit the last two racing days.

McGaughey will shorten Finding Fame up in distance while also running Slam Dunk in the race, which drew seven. Finding Fame is drawn on the outside and will be ridden by Jose Ortiz, who rode Slam Dunk in her previous start. Javier Castellano rides Slam Dunk from post 2.

When Finding Fame finished second here May 15, she was coming off a 100-day layoff, since finishing fifth behind Lake Avenue at Gulfstream Park in February.

The mile distance, the layoff, and the trip may have compromised Finding Fame.

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“I thought her race the other day off the layoff was a good race,” McGaughey said. “She was wide the whole way and [Alandra] got through. She’s trained really well for this. I like her coming off a mile race cutting back to 6 1/2.”

Slam Dunk is coming off a second-place finish to the stakes winner Miss Brazil in this condition here April 23. Prior to that, she finished fourth in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie on March 20 at Gulfstream.

“Miss Brazil is a pretty good filly,” McGaughey said. “I thought we were going to make a run at her at the head of the stretch, but couldn’t quite get there.”

McGaughey said he wanted to stretch Slam Dunk out to a mile or 1 1/16 miles but that race in this condition did not fill.

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Trainer Ray Handal also entered two in this spot. Dealing Justice is coming off a front-running score in an allowance on May 20 at Churchill Downs. Timely Tradition is an 11-time winner, and two starts back finished second to the undefeated Chub Wagon in this condition.

Don’t Call Me Mary was beaten a head by Slam Dunk in February at Gulfstream before coming back to clear her first-level allowance condition on March 28 at Gulfstream.

Truth Hurts and Tara’s Talent complete the field.