Pas de Soucis tops allowance field

ELMONT, N.Y. – After rain forced 18 of the 23 scheduled turf races to the main track last week at Belmont Park, there’s a favorable forecast to begin this race week, which has six turf races scheduled for both Thursday and Friday.

Thursday’s co-features are an $85,000 third-level allowance at a mile on the Widener turf and a $77,000 first-level allowance going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf.

Only five will go postward in race 4, the third-level allowance, topped by the 5-year-old Irish-bred mare Pas de Soucis. After beginning her career in France, Pas de Soucis was transferred to Chad Brown, who won a second-level allowance with her going 1 1/16 miles at Saratoga last August off a 10-month layoff.

Pas de Soucis has not run since, and in the interim was moved to trainer Jorge Abreu, a former Brown assistant who has been out on his own for nearly two years.

“The filly came into me in late February,” Abreu said. “The filly has been breezing really well. She acts like a filly that’s ready to run. I expect the filly to run a big race.”

:: Save 20% on PPs, digital paper subscriptions, and more with DRF's Memorial Day sale!

Pas de Soucis, who has Irad Ortiz Jr. named to ride, is likely to get a good stalking trip behind either In the Lee or Dynatail.

“I would like for her to be sitting second or third, forwardly placed,” Abreu said.

In the Lee, trained by Shug McGaughey, finished second to Inflexibility in a spot similar to this April 22 at Aqueduct. She made all the pace, a style that she hadn’t employed previously. Either she or Dynatail figure to be on the lead Thursday.

Race 8 is the second start for Bouncy, who made quite the auspicious debut, rallying from last in a field of 11 to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden race at Keeneland. In that race, Bouncy was squeezed back to last at the break, made a wide rally to get into midpack down the backside, then came four wide in the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length.

“I thought she had a pretty tough trip and kind of overcame it,” trainer Graham Motion said. “I think she’ll hopefully make a step forward. We had a few little gate issues. We stood her in the gate quite a bit, and often when you stand them that much it tends to take some of the sharpness out of them.”

Among her seven rivals Thursday are Reversethedecision, a daughter of Scat Daddy who is coming off a maiden win at Aqueduct on April 14 for trainer Chad Brown; the New York-bred Lady Joan, who was fourth in this condition last out; and Momentiempo, a maiden winner last November at Aqueduct who makes her seasonal debut.