Passing Out looks to upset big names in Beaugay Stakes

ELMONT, N.Y. – Rushing Fall and Got Stormy will deservedly take the bulk of the money from bettors in Wednesday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Beaugay Stakes, the featured event on the opening-day card of the 25-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet.

But trainer Shug McGaughey could have a surprise package in store in the promising Passing Out, who, if given the proper ride, could be flying late in the stretch of the 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares.

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Passing Out, a 4-year-old daughter of Orb, was impressive last summer rallying from well back and splitting horses in deep stretch to win a first-level allowance at Saratoga. In April, she rallied from 11 lengths back to win a second-level allowance by seven at Tampa Bay Downs, earning a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

The Beaugay will most certainly be her sternest test to date. Jose Ortiz rides from post 5.

“The whole trick to her is you got to get her to relax in behind horses and make one run,” said McGaughey, who won this race in 1986 with Duty Dance and in 2008 with Criminologist. “Jose’s going to have to [grab] her leaving there. If that happens, I think they’ll know she’s in there. Whether she’s good enough, I don’t know.”

McGaughey said Passing Out has seemed relaxed in her training and on Sunday when he schooled her in the paddock.

Rushing Fall, a 5-year-old daughter of More Than Ready, has won seven graded stakes, including four Grade 1’s. However her last victory came in the Grade 1 Just a Game here last June. Since then, she has been second in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga and fourth in the Grade 1 First Lady last October at Keeneland.

While trainer Chad Brown is exceptional at bringing horses back off extended layoffs, he noted that this race is just a starting point for both Rushing Fall and Fifty Five, who also makes her seasonal debut in this spot.

“We’re giving up a great deal of fitness, but we need to get started somewhere,” Brown, who has won the Beaugay the last two years and three of the last five, said of Rushing Fall. “I like her in this race. I really want to win the race with either her or Fifty Five. At the end of the day, it’s just a Grade 3 race. It’s not an end-all for either of their seasons.”

The Beaugay could be used as a stepping-stone for the Grade 1 Just a Game here June 27 or the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley on July 11 at Keeneland.

Fifty Five, 6, has finished in the top three in 20 of her 22 starts. She has dominated the New York-bred female turf division and won a Grade 3 stakes with trainer Tom Bush before she was privately purchased midway through her 3-year-old season. Fifty Five is 7 for 11 at Belmont.

With Javier Castellano riding Rushing Fall, Joel Rosario picks up the mount on Fifty Five.

Got Stormy, who last year won the Grade 1 Fourstardave at Saratoga against males and the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar, is 0 for 2 this year. After finishing fourth in the Endeavour Stakes at Tampa in February, Got Story finished second, beaten a neck, in the Frank Kilroe against males in March at Santa Anita. While she excels at a mile, Got Stormy is 0 for 4 at 1 1/16 miles.

“I think she’s a true miler,” said Mark Casse, trainer of Got Stormy. “To be at her best, she needs the turf to be hard and fast. But in today’s world, you play the cards that are dealt to you. We’re using this race to set us up for the next one.”

Wednesday’s forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of late afternoon thunderstorms.

Xenobia could be a pace factor along with Rushing Fall. Last October, Xenboia took control of the Grade 3 Athenia early and scored a 1 1/2-length victory over this course and at the Beaugay distance. Manny Franco rides for Jonathan Thomas.

Call Me Love, a multiple group stakes winner in Italy for trainer Alessandro Botti, makes her first start for trainer Christophe Clement, a four-time Beaugay winner.

The Beaugay goes as race 9 on a 10-race card that begins at 1:15 p.m.