Mean Mary, Mrs. Sippy give Motion formidable one-two punch in New York Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y – There are three uncoupled entries among the seven fillies and mares entered in Saturday’s $250,000 New York at Belmont Park, and none complement themselves any better than the Graham Motion-trained duo of the speedy Mean Mary and stretch-running Mrs. Sippy.

The Motion duo will square off in the Grade 2 New York against the Chad Brown pair of My Sister Nat and Fools Gold as well as trainer Christophe Clement’s graded stakes-placed fillies Call Me Love and Feel Glorious. Valiance stands alone representing the Todd Pletcher barn in the 1 1/4-mile fixture carded over the inner turf.

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Mean Mary has won her last three starts, at distances ranging from a 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/2 miles. She led throughout at Gulfstream Park to capture the Grade 3 La Prevoyante by five lengths and Grade 3 Orchid by a length to launch her 2020 season. The New York will mark her first try against Grade 2 opposition.

“Obviously, we liked her going into Florida, but couldn’t have predicted the success she had down there,” Motion said of Mean Mary. “We wanted to have her around for the fall, so we weren’t looking to run her back for a while once leaving Florida, but with everything going on, we wound up giving her more time than planned. Her training schedule has been a little irregular as a result, but she’s doing well. She doesn’t necessarily have to be on the lead, but she has a very high galloping speed and that seems to be her running style.”

Mrs. Sippy was an instant success upon joining Motion’s barn last summer. She launched her career in Europe and won her U.S. bow by three-quarters of a length with a last-to-first rally in Saratoga’s Grade 2 Glens Falls. She followed that performance with a solid second behind the champion Sistercharlie in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl before closing out the year finishing ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

“We freshened her up on purpose after the Breeders’ Cup, then everything got put on hold,” Motion said. “This was probably about the time we would have started her back anyway, so she’s just ready to run. From a fitness point of view, she’s done enough for the race.”

Like Mrs. Sippy, both My Sister Nat and Fools Gold will be making their first start of the year. My Sister Nat has been idle since missing by a neck in the Grade 3 Long Island on Nov. 30 at Aqueduct. Fools Gold was sidelined following a fourth-place finish in the 12-furlong Zagora on Nov. 3 at Aqueduct.

“It’s not ideal to run a mile and one-quarter off a layoff, but 2020 is a weird year and it forces us to do things we wouldn’t normally do,” Brown said. “I’m hoping this will be a breakout year for both fillies. It took My Sister Nat a little while to get on track with our program and American racing last year, but I was very happy with the way she came around at the end of the season, and she probably should have won the Long Island but for a troubled trip. Hopefully, she’ll fulfill the promise we thought she had when we first acquired her.”

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Fools Gold won the Grade 3 Waya last summer at Saratoga before finishing fifth, beaten five lengths by Mrs. Sippy, in the Glens Falls.

“She had a very good summer, but the long season might have taken a toll on her,” said Brown, who has won the last two and three of the last four renewals of the New York. “I think she just got a little tired in her last start.”

Call Me Love was a Group 2 winner in Italy last year at 3 before joining Clement’s barn and finishing second behind no less an opponent than Rushing Fall making her U.S. bow in the Grade 3 Beaugay here earlier this month. Her stablemate Feel Glorious runs for the first time since winning the Winter Memories going 1 1/16 miles over a yielding course on Dec. 7 at Aqueduct.

Clement will be seeking his fifth win in the New York on Saturday.

Valiance launched her career with three consecutive victories, all on turf, before suffering her first setback coming off nearly a one-year layoff when finishing a slow-starting fourth in Gulfstream Park’s Powder Break, a race taken off the grass and switched to a fast main track on May 16.