Albertrani Duo Faces My Sister Nat in Glens Falls

Trainer Tom Albertrani sends out the improving pair of Beau Belle and Lovely Lucky in the Aug. 5 $200,000 Glens Falls Stakes (G2T), a 1 3/8 miles inner turf marathon for older fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course.

Mark T. Anderson's Beau Belle, a 5-year-old Giant's Causeway mare, is out of the graded stakes-winning Royal Solo mare Binya, who produced Dynaire—the dam of the popular grade 1-winning Albertrani trainee Sadler's Joy.

Beau Belle graduated in her 15th start last July over a yielding Saratoga turf course in a maiden special weight and followed that effort up with an allowance score a month later again over yielding turf. Both races were at 1 3/16 miles.

Albertrani stepped Beau Belle up significantly since that run of form, including a fifth in the Flower Bowl Invitational (G1T) last October at Belmont, a third in the July 12 River Memories Stakes at Belmont Park and a last-out fourth under Manny Franco in the Aug. 8 Waya Stakes (G3T) at the Spa, a race won by Glens Falls-rival My Sister Nat.

"She's training forwardly, as she has been, and looks really good going into it," said Albertrani. "I think in her last race she was a little compromised. We had hoped to be on the front end, but Manny decided to take her back as he thought there was going to be more speed outside of him. As it turned out, she got to fighting him and was a little keen behind horses, but she still managed to run on."

Elizabeth Mateo's Lovely Lucky, a lighlty-raced 4-year-old Lookin At Lucky  filly, has found new life competing on turf. After three off-the-board efforts on dirt at Aqueduct Racetrack over the winter, Lovely Lucky showed promise with a rallying fourth on the turf May 30 at Gulfstream Park.

A modest $5,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale, Lovely Lucky graduated by a nose June 21 on the Belmont Park turf with a strong rally in a one-turn mile maiden claiming event in which jockey Jose Ortiz lost his crop.

She followed that win with a dominant 6 3/4-length score in a 1 3/8-mile turf allowance July 24 at the Spa, utilizing a prominent approach under Ortiz.

"She always looked like she might be a turf type horse, but she ran okay in her first two starts at Aqueduct and we opted to try her up there for the winter," said Albertrani. "After the third start at Aqueduct, we decided she just didn't care for the dirt and we shipped her to Florida and she moved up quite a bit first time on the turf."

Albertrani cross-entered Lovely Lucky in the ninth race Sept. 3 at Saratoga, a 1 3/16-mile optional-claiming turf event, but said the Glens Falls distance would suit the improving bay.

"She's taken some big steps forward, especially (in the) last race stretching her out,"  said Albertrani. "I thought it was a very impressive race. Entering here (in the Glens Falls) was insurance. I know it's a tougher group but I think it's a distance she'll relish.

"She ran a big race last time that might put her close to some of these, and you never know what might happen. Jose dropped the whip in the $75,000 claimer but she looked much more impressive coming back at a mile and three eighths. She looked like she could have gone another half-mile and not stopped."

Luis Saez has the call on Beau Belle from post 2, while Jose Lezcano would pick up the mount on Lovely Lucky from post 3.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle the Peter Brant-owned French-breds My Sister Nat and Eliade.

My Sister Nat, a 5-year-old Acclamationmare, captured the 2018 Prix Bertrand de Tarragon (G3) at Longchamp and moved to Brown's barn last year where her best result was a close second, defeated by a neck to Si Que Es Buena, in the Long Island Stakes (G3T) Nov. 30 at 11 furlongs on the Big A turf.

She made her 2020 seasonal debut by running second to Mean Mary in the New York Stakes (G2T) June 27 at Belmont ahead of her rallying effort to defeat Mrs. Sippy by a neck in the Waya.

Eliade, a 4-year-old Teofilo mare, captured the Prix Panacee Oct. 7 at Toulouse to wrap up her sophomore season. She made her debut for Brown June 6 at Belmont when sixth and was a closing second last out Aug. 6 when a neck back of Hungry Kitten in an 11-furlong optional-claiming turf event at the Spa.

My Sister Nat will exit post 4 under Ortiz, while Eliade will be guided from post 5 under Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Rounding out the field are Civil Union (post 1, Joel Rosario), who captured the River Memories last out July 12 at Belmont for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey; Pallas Athene (post 6, Kendrick Carmouche), a 4-year-old daughter of Declaration of War trained by John Terranova; and Complicit post 7, Dylan Davis), a 6-year-old Blame  mare looking for her first stakes win for trainer Eric Reed.