Chelsea Durand Photo

Neecie Marie up in time in G3 Beaugay

by Mary Eddy

Michael Milam’s Neecie Marie made the grade with a perfectly executed ride by Hall of Famer Joel Rosario in Saturday’s Grade 3, $175,000 Beaugay, a 1 1/16-mile outer turf test for older fillies and mares, at Belmont at the Big A.

Trained by Butch Reid, Jr., Neecie Marie earned her first graded coup in her 4-year-old debut after finishing a close second to Eternal Hope last year in both the 1 3/8-mile Grade 3 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational and nine-furlong Grade 2 Sands Point over the Big A turf.

The Pennsylvania-bred Cross Traffic bay emerged cleanly from post 2-of-5, but was unhurried to trail in fourth as the sharp-starting Spirit And Glory, who entered from a win in the local Plenty of Grace, and post-time favorite Whitebeam drew off in a pace duel to mark an opening quarter-mile in 24.09 seconds over the good footing.

The pair put eight lengths between them and Quarrel in third with Whitebeam sticking her neck in front down the backstretch, but a determined Spirit And Glory would not let her foe take charge and battled back along the inside through the half-mile in 47.87. A patient Rosario held Neecie Marie steady in last before coaxing her with a shake of the reins rounding the turn through three-quarters in 1:11.62.

Neecie Marie still had seven lengths to make up at the stretch call as the top duo battled on fiercely with little separating them at the eighth pole, but Neecie Marie made up ground with giant strides down the center of the course after angling wide around Quarrel and the slow-starting Aspray. Whitebeam and Spirit And Glory remained head-to-head in the final 100 yards, but their battle turned into one for place honors as Neecie Marie swept by them in the shadow of the wire to claim victory in a final time of 1:42.80.

Whitebeam bravely landed second by a head over Spirit And Glory with Quarrel finishing another 2 1/4 lengths back in fourth. Aspray completed the order of finish. Main track-only entrants Hot Fudge, Bustin Bay and Ocean Gateway were scratched.

Reid, Jr., who has hit the board in 6-of-10 starts in New York this year, said he was proud his filly overcame such an early deficit.

“I was a little concerned [about being too far back], but I could see the jock wasn’t concerned – he was still taking a hold going down the backside, so he must have felt he had something under him,” said Reid, Jr. “It looked like a daunting task turning for home, but this is a nice filly and I think a bigger, stronger filly than last year, too. We’re looking for big things from her.”

Rosario, aboard for the first time in the afternoon, credited Neecie Marie’s heart to win at a distance that is likely shorter than she prefers.

“I was very comfortable,” said Rosario. “She doesn’t have a lot of early speed and for a mile and a sixteenth, I thought maybe it would be a little short for her, but she was grinding it out and she kept coming. She finished really well for me.

“If you asked me if I thought we were going to win the race turning for home – maybe not – but it looked like she was getting to them and the further we go, the more she was getting to them,” Rosario added. “It was perfect.”

Reid, Jr. said future plans for Neecie Marie likely include more distance.

“We’ll see how she bounces out of this one,” said Reid, Jr. “This was obviously a little under her best distance, but it was what we were looking for off the layoff and I think she’ll be better on down the road.”

Bred by Jon A. Marshall, Neecie Marie adds to a resume that includes an additional stakes triumph in the state-bred Mrs. Penny in August at Parx Racing. She banked $96,250 in victory and improved her lifetime record to 10-5-2-0 while returning $17.80 on a $2 win ticket.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, trainer of Whitebeam and fifth-place Aspray, said last year’s Grade 1 Diana-winner Whitebeam may have tired late because of the cut in the turf.

“Given the ground - we’ve had rain and it’s a bit soft – those were probably pretty strong fractions, so she probably felt it the last 70 yards or so there,” said Brown. “We’ll have to hope she got a lot out of it. It was a good effort, she just got tired late.”

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont at the Big A with a nine-race card, featuring the Grade 3, $175,000 Soaring Softly in Race 8. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

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