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Rougir ready to rock G1 New York

by Michael Adolphson

After making the competition blush in her seasonal debut, Rougir returns in Friday’s featured Grade 1, $750,000 New York, a 10-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares at Belmont Park.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle four entrants - all owned fully or in part by Peter Brant - in Rougir, Flighty Lady, Bleecker Street and Virginia Joy - as the conditioner searches for a record-tying fourth New York win following past success with Dacita [2016], Fourstar Crook [2018] and the Brant-owned Homerique [2019]. 

A winner of last year’s Group 1 Prix de l’Opera on Arc Day at Longchamp, Rougir went on to finish seventh in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar for then-trainer Cedric Rossi before selling for nearly $3.4 million at Arqana’s December Breeding Stock Sale to Brant and Michael Tabor. 

A winner from seven to 10 furlongs, the daughter of Territories was Group 1-placed as a 2-year-old before finishing a close fifth in the Group 1 Prix de Diane [French Oaks] and losing the Group 1 Prix Rothschild by a neck before her top-level triumph. 

Sent to Brown over the winter, she took a while to come around, but impressed connections leading up to and through her local unveiling, a smashing of the Grade 3 Beaugay on May 14 at Belmont by three widening lengths. She will be ridden once again by Flavien Prat from post 2.

“She was tired when she got to me in the winter,” Brown said. “We turned her out and let her get some weight on her. Then she started to blossom and look tons better. Her race was excellent in the Beaugay and I think she is a horse who will be at her best anywhere from a mile and an eighth to a mile and a quarter.” 

Her biggest competition arguably comes in the form of stablemates Bleecker Street [Irad Ortiz, Jr., post 5] and Virginia Joy [Trevor McCarthy, post 3]. 

The latter is a German-bred daughter of Soldier Hollow, who demolished a yielding edition of the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay on May 7 over 11 furlongs and won over this course and distance in allowance company in April 2021. Currently on the fence to run, she was fourth in last year’s edition, beaten 2 1/4-lengths. 

Bleecker Street is undefeated in six starts, including the Grade 3 Modesty at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day. She has yet to race past nine furlongs, but finished strongly last out, defeating stablemate Fluffy Socks, and swept both graded stakes at Tampa Bay Downs this winter, the Grade 3 Endeavour and Grade 2 Hillsborough. 

“We are 50/50 to run Virginia Joy. She is training well and if one or two horses come out, we will maybe run her. We haven’t decided yet,” Brown said. “Bleecker Street keeps running well. She steps up and does what we ask of her. We’ll test her at a mile and a quarter to see if she can step up again.”

The final of the Brown-trained foursome is Group 1-placed allowance winner Flighty Lady [Eric Cancel, post 1], who could live up to her name and show a bit of pace.

“We’re leaning toward running her. She has class to her and she has speed,” Brown said.

Brendan Walsh will look to add a sixth career Grade/Group 1 victory and third in a five-week span when he saddles eye-catching challenger Family Way for owners Fergus Galvin, Debra O'Connor and Marc Detampel.

Winner of the Grade 3 Orchid at Gulfstream Park over 12 furlongs in April, she was a valiant second last out to divisional leader War Like Goddess over the same distance at Keeneland in the Grade 3 Bewitch. 

Previously trained through six initial starts in France by Henri-Alex Pantall, she has won three of her nine runs for Walsh and has given connections confidence going into this tall task. 

“She did nothing wrong all winter and I think she’s a very exciting filly,” Walsh said. “She has put up a couple really good efforts and ran against probably the best turf filly in the country last out, so she is entitled to take her shot again and I think Belmont with its sweeping turns will really suit her, as well. If she does produce her best effort, she can win, I think. She has improved and run against top fillies in every effort and I believe she’s getting better going into this race. Ten furlongs won’t be a problem for her.” 

Lovely Lucky, third in the Sheepshead Bay for trainer Tom Albertrani and owner Elizabeth Mateo, breaks from post 6 under Jose Ortiz; and Core Values, third in the Bewitch for Vicky Oliver and BBN Racing, completes the field in post 4 under Joel Rosario. 

The New York is slated as Race 10 on Friday’s 11-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

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

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