Rougir shows nice turn of foot to win Beaugay in debut for new ownership group

Rougir has a long, long ways to go to win back her $3.375 million purchase price out of the Arqana breeding stock sale last December at Deauville. So it wasn’t so much about the money as the style in which she took the first step in that direction that mattered Saturday at Belmont Park where the Group 1 winner registered an impressive three-length victory over Our Flash Drive and five other older fillies and mares in the $150,000 Beaugay Stakes.

Rougir was making her first start for her new ownership group of Peter Brant, Michael Tabor, and M.V. Magnier, and is under the tutelage of trainer Chad Brown.

Idle since her troubled seventh place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf more than six months earlier, Rougir did the bulk of her training for her 2022 debut at Brown’s winter headquarters at Payson Park before shipping to Belmont to put the finishing touches on her preparations earlier this month.

With Flavien Prat aboard, Rougir was reserved at the rear of the field for the opening six furlongs of the mile and one-sixteenth Beaugay. She edged closer while kept wide leaving the final turn, quickened suddenly when roused upon settling into the stretch, and asserted her class to readily run past the leaders from out near the center of the course and win going away.

Our Flash Drive raced forwardly while three wide and stuck her head in front briefly nearing the furlong grounds, ultimately out-gaming High Opinion to be second best while no match for the winner. Lemista, who is trained by Brown for Brant, rallied belatedly to finish a non-threatening fourth.

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Rougir, a 4-year-old French bred daughter Territories, completed the distance in 1:43.40 over a turf course officially designated as firm. She paid $3.20 while earning back $82,500 of her new owners lavish purchase price.

“I was thrilled with her race,” said Brown. “She showed a nice turn of foot that she shows us in the morning. It certainly looks like she’ll stretch out fine. She’s proven at a mile and a quarter previously and I think that’s where she’s headed.

“We’ll take a look at running her back in the [Grade 1] New York [on June 10]. There was an easy pace and such and she was still able to overcome and run well.”

Brown was also pleased with Lemista’s effort as well.

“I thought Lemista ran a pretty good race, too,” Brown noted. “She was a little too far back. I thought her first step out of the gate was good and then she sucked back to last turning for home. She doesn’t have the turn of foot necessary to get those kind of trips. Next time, I look forward to stretching out Lemista a touch and putting her more into the race. She looked willing to do that today.