Race flow favors Distorted Beauty, Hillhouse High
A well-matched field of 10 turf-meant fillies and mares will line up for Friday’s featured eighth race, an $80,000 optional claimer with second-level allowance conditions scheduled for six furlongs on Belmont Park’s Widener turf.
The pace projects to be strongly contested between Aventure Love and Hard to Stay Notgo, a pair of run-and-gun types who are hell-bent on making the lead. The French-bred Aventure Love has led from the start to deep stretch in all five starts since being imported to the United States and has held on to win twice for Wesley Ward, who started the meet with a 3-2-0 record from six starters.
The New York-bred Hard to Stay Notgo has led at the pace call in all five of her starts for Jimmy Jerkens. She has been freshened since two starts at Aqueduct’s inner-track meet, where she posted a front-running win in the Franklin Square and showed the way through the opening half-mile of the Cicada.
“She’s hit or miss, and she’s a little problematic to train,” said assistant trainer Steven Moyer. “She’s naturally fast; that’s all she wants to do.”
A meltdown up front could pave the way for closers such as Distorted Beauty and Hillhouse High, both of whom narrowly missed in stakes on this circuit last year and make their seasonal debuts Friday. Distorted Beauty employed stalking tactics in four wins at age 3 and then nearly stole the one-mile Pebbles Stakes on the lead, coming up a half-length short. Hillhouse High finished fast to miss by the same margin in the Tenski at Saratoga for Chad Brown, who topped the standings with nine wins through the first two weeks of the current meet.
Race 8
KEY CONTENDERS
Distorted Beauty (Last 3 Beyers: 49-89-85)
◗ She won or placed in all but one turf start last year, finishing off the board in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere to close out the season.
She is one of just two in the field to have won a six-furlong turf race, along with Persnickity.
Hillhouse High (Last 3 Beyers: 77-70-83)
◗ Equaled her top Beyer of 83 when a close second under these conditions on Belmont’s inner course last fall.
Both of her victories have come on the Widener turf.
Old Harbor (Last 3 Beyers: 89-81-73)
◗ She captured the Cupecoy’s Joy division of the New York Stallion series at seven furlongs on the Widener last June. “[Taking blinkers off] might have helped her relax,” said trainer Russell Cash.