Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out a quartet of challengers for Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Intercontinental for fillies and mares going seven furlongs over the Widener turf course at Belmont Park.
Making her first start following an 11-month hiatus, Grade 1-winner Newspaperofrecord headlines the Brown brigade, breaking from post 5.
Owned by Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables, the 4-year-old Lope de Vega bay was made the post-time favorite in all six of her career starts, but went winless in her trio of sophomore outings. She was last seen when running a distant ninth in the G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in July and will attempt her first trip to the winner’s circle since a 6 ¾-length romp in the 2018 G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Churchill Downs.
“She’s been training really well,” Brown said. “It’s a good distance to start her back, we’ll look at stretching her out to a mile and not go past that distance.”
Newspaperofrecord will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., who has piloted the filly in all her outings.
Brown will also saddle Viadera, who will make her first start in North America by way of Ireland.
Owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms, the well-bred 4-year-old daughter of Bated Breath comes from the same family as four-time Group 1 winner Twice Over and will make her first start since finishing ninth against stakes company at Leopardstown.
“She’s more of a mile-type,” Brown said of the three-time winner. “She’s a very high-quality horse with a top-notch pedigree.”
Viadera will break from the rail under jockey Joel Rosario, who piloted Free as a Bird to victory in the 2014 inaugural running of the Intercontinental.
Brown also will send out two graded stakes winners in Regal Glory and last year’s Intercontinental winner Significant Form.
The former, owned by Paul Pompa, Jr., will make her seasonal bow following a successful 3-year-old campaign, which included graded stakes wins over the inner turf at Saratoga in the G3 Lake George and the G2 Lake Placid, the latter of which resulted in a dead heat with Varenka.
A Kentucky homebred, Regal Glory is out of the two-time graded stakes-winning More Than Ready broodmare Mary’s Follies who also produced Night Prowler, a dual turf stakes winner.
Jockey Jose Ortiz will be aboard from post 7.
Stephanie Seymour Brant’s Significant Form makes her 5-year-old debut following a prosperous 2019 campaign, which included three graded stakes triumphs.
In addition to last year’s Intercontinental, the gray daughter of Creative Cause also notched victories in the G2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga and the G3 Noble Damsel over the Widener Turf Course at Belmont.
Significant Form boasts a record of three wins in five career starts over the Belmont lawn, all of which took place against graded stakes company.
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has the mount from post 12.
Newly elected Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will send out Eyeinthesky, for owner Gary Barber.
The 4-year-old bay daughter of Sky Mesa was third in the 5 ½-furlong Mardi Gras at Fair Grounds Race Course last out and will be in search of her first victory since winning last year’s Galway over the Mellon turf at Saratoga.
Casse said that his filly will relish the added distance.
“I think she’ll love seven-eighths. She’s a horse I’ve always had extremely high hopes for and she’s won some races, but I’ve always felt like there was more there,” said Casse, who saddled Mississippi Delta to victory in the 2017 Intercontinental.
Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano will be aboard from post 3.
Completing the field are Victim of Love [post 2, Jose Lezcano]; Jakarta [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche]; Getmotherarose [post 8, Junior Alvarado]; Rose Flower [post 9, Manny Franco]; Jc’s Shooting Star [post 10, Dylan Davis]; and Saratoga Treasure [post 11, Eric Cancel]. Slimey is entered for the main-track only.
The Intercontinental is named in honor of Juddmonte Farm’s 2005 Champion Turf Mare and eight time graded-stakes winner. Trained by the late Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel, the daughter of Danehill won the 2005 G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in her swan song and is out of the prolific broodmare Hasili, who also produced millionaires Banks Hill, Cacique, Champs Elysses and Heat Haze, as well as prominent sire Dansili.
Slated as Race 8 on Saturday’s 11-race card, which offers a first post of 1:15 p.m. Eastern, the Intercontinental will be featured on America’s Day at the Races, produced by NYRA in partnership with FOX Sports, and airing live on FS1 and MSG+. Free Equibase-provided past performances are available for races that are part of the America’s Day at the Races broadcast and can be accessed at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.
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