Pletcher goes after local stakes double in New York Oaks
A belated edition of the $75,000 New York Oaks highlights Monday’s card at Finger Lakes. The 1 1/16-mile race for statebred 3-year-old fillies at the Farmington, N.Y., track failed to draw enough entries when it was originally scheduled on July 19.
The second take has drawn a field of seven, including trainer Jeremiah Englehart’s local winners U Guys Are No Fun and A Life That’s Good. The other five have been racing on the NYRA circuit downstate, including Laura’s Bellamy, who will try to give trainer Todd Pletcher a local double. Pletcher won the New York Derby with Americanrevolution on July 19.
Laura’s Bellamy will have Rochester, N.Y., native Reylu Gutierrez aboard. Gutierrez earned his first win at Finger Lakes in 2017.
Laura’s Bellamy’s only win came in her first start, a February maiden race at Aqueduct. She most recently was second and third in a pair of allowance races at Aqueduct, earning Beyer Speed Figures of 82 and 72.
Like Americanrevolution in the New York Derby, Laura’s Bellamy will be making her stakes debut while running two turns for the first time.
The most stakes-seasoned runner in the field is Laobanonaprayer, who is trying to right the ship. Trained by Daniel Velazquez, Laobanonaprayer emerged as a statebred standout last year, not missing the board in four starts while winning the Maid of the Mist Stakes at Belmont by 5 1/2 lengths and the Fifth Avenue division of the New York Stallion Series at Aqueduct by eight lengths. This year, however, she is winless in four starts and has been off the board in her last three outings. She did earn a Beyer of 81, the second-highest number in this field, while finishing fourth against open company in the Busher on March 6, beaten 6 3/4 lengths by the victorious Search Results.
A Life That’s Good won the Niagara Stakes on June 28 at Finger Lakes. She stalked the pace and pounced for a 1 1/4-length victory.
U Guys Are No Fun, Englehart’s other filly, blew a Finger Lakes maiden field away by 20 lengths on June 9 in her second start, earning a Beyer of 73 in the mile and 70-yard race.
Completing the field are A Bit o’Irish Sass, a maiden winner at this distance at Belmont; Destinationwnrscir, a maiden winner at a mile at Aqueduct; and Scott Alaia, a maiden-claiming winner going a mile at Belmont.