Belle’s race is Sunday. Sorry for any confusion. The previous post has been amended. Details are correct.

Brilliant Belle will be running this Sunday afternoon in race 7.  She will be breaking from her favorite post, one, in a 7 1/2 furlong grass race.  The conditions are $7500 claiming, a bit of a bump from her last race (a conditioned $6250 claimer) and she’ll have Jareth Loveberry aboard.

It will be Group 2 (Nierman – Zessman) in the paddock.

We really wanted to get a $6250 starter allowance but it didn’t fill so we had a pair of options: the $4000 starter where we would have to run for the $6250 tag or the $7500 race that we ultimately entered.

It will be interesting to see how she handles the extra distance, though she should be able to go a bit longer on the turf than she does on dirt.  We know she can handle the turf as she ran a nice 3rd in a turf race back in Kentucky.

We decided on this race to challenge her a bit, see if we have real turf ability which would option up options down the road and go with a higher claiming price to force anyone that wants to buy her to pay us what we bought her if they’re willing to take a risk on her.  She was tough against cheap but not sure if she can beat much higher than what’s in here…IF she can beat what is in here!

It’s a full field and we’ll break it down for you in the next couple of days.

Sunday in video and pictures

Belle’s Race

Belle goes tomorrow in the 9th race with Orlando Mojica aboard.  She will be breaking from the rail in the 5 1/2 furlong dash over the main track for a tag of $6250.

1 BRILLIANT BELLE (LITFIN/O MOJICA)

2 Spell Winder (Donlin/Loveberry) – Morning line favorite has had a great meet and coming off an impressive victory in her last over lesser.  She will definitely want on or near the lead and if we go too we’ll know early on if our girl has any heart left.

3 Muster In (Cancahri/P Canchari) – First of two entries from the Luis Canchari barn.  This one comes back to the main surface after a try over the turf and a trip to Omaha which were not fruitful.

4 Desert Summer (Van Winkle/Goodwin) – Another coming back to the dirt after a turf try.  Was solid at $7500 last time here but going to need some speed to go after.

5 Wonder About Lola (Fields/Sanchez) – Winner of two of three from a barn having a very solid meet.  Moves up a tick and should be trying to stalk the early pace.

6 Gold Cup Skier (Bravo/R Mojica) – Certainly speedy Minnesotan had a rough go at $5000 ($7500 for state breds).  Showed no speed in that one but has shown it before.

7 Sandy’s Song (Canchari/A Canchari) – Luis’ second entry had been trying tougher here on and off the turf before also trying Omaha.  She has been competitive but not able to close the deal for about a year back in Pennsylvania.  The drop should be what she’s looking for.  She should be closer to the pace under Alex and will be a threat late.

Can we win here?  Sure.  But it really is hard to tell what our girl is thinking these days.  I thought her last race was a good spot for her to be in and she just folded her tents and went home when pressured.  That was surprising considering how dogged she was in her victory to kick off the Canterbury season.  Could be that her hoof hadn’t fully healed or it could be she’s only brave when she hits the front.  We, of course, can’t ask her so we gave her some class relief and we’ll see how she does.

With the rail I would anticipate her to get out well and try and clear a little bit before the speed on her outside comes down.  Ideally Spell Winder and Gold Cup Skier go and she can be a position to get past these late – if she’ll go ahead and allow it.

Should be interesting.  We’ll see soon enough.  Good luck everybody!