Belmont | Race 7 | Post Time 4:32 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs
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This is a high-quality allowance race with a very European flavor. The five major players all began their careers overseas, and one of those is making her North American debut in this spot. The two runners likely to vie for favoritism are Stone Tornado (#6) and Madita (#5). The former was part of an entry with winner Clara Peeters when she made her U.S. debut in June and she arguably ran the best race in that spot. She could never really get cover breaking from an outside post and ultimately made an early push to take the lead at the quarter pole in a race where the horse making the final move got the money. Stone Tornado was successful going a flat mile over in Europe, so she figures to appreciate the stretch-out in distance.

Madita has been a bit of an enigma since coming to this country. She ran pretty well at Saratoga last year but then completely fell apart in her 2019 finale. Yet she looked like a completely different horse in her 5-year-old debut last time, destroying a field a the N1X level. This is a tougher spot, but she had shown class in Germany last year and may have just turned the corner. I’m using both of these prominently, but there are others to consider.

Both fillies drawn towards the outside, She’s Got You and Chaleur (#9), actually faced off in a pair of stakes in England in late 2019. Chaleur has the benefit of having made a start in this country, but I’m not sure how strong that effort was given that the race was won by a massive longshot. She also could appreciate the slight cutback in distance since the 1 1/8 miles off the layoff may have really tested her stamina.

I’m using her, but my top pick is her rival SHE’S GOT YOU (#8). This filly is now in the barn of Chad Brown and certainly possesses the class to beat a field like this based on her British form. In my opinion, she ran better than Chaleur in Europe and she’s certainly bred to have a nice future. By top sire Kingman, she’s a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz and Group 1 winning turfer Without Parole. She seems to be training well for her stateside debut and I think she’s going to put forth a strong effort.

THE PLAY

Win: 8
Exacta Key Box: 8 with 5,6,7,9
Trifecta: 8 with 5,6 with 5,6,7,9