Sail By, Arrest Me Red Top Turf Action at Belmont

Treadway Racing Stable's Sail By , ridden by Junior Alvarado, returned to the grass Oct. 2 after an off-the-turf start to capture the $200,000 Miss Grillo Stakes (G2T) at Belmont Park.

Trained by Leah Gyarmati, the Astern   filly entered the 1 1/16-mile contest for juvenile fillies over the firm inner turf off a third-place finish in the P. G. Johnston Stakes, which was moved to seven furlongs on the main track Sept. 2 at Saratoga Race Course from the Miss Grillo distance on turf.

Breaking from the rail, Sail By tracked front-running longshot Charlee O  as the two fillies quickly separated from their competitors through splits of :23.59, :49.40, and 1:14.46. 

Alvarado moved Sail By closer to the leader as the field rounded the far turn and hit the front for the stretch drive with plenty in the tank. Sail By was able to hold off a late challenge from Chad Brown-trained runners—Kinchen  and the heavy favorite McKulick —securing a one-length victory in a final time of 1:43.21. Kinchen completed the exacta by a head over McKulick.

"She broke very sharply," Alvarado said, "She was laying second beautifully and was relaxing nicely. I knew I was going to have horse turning for home."

Alvarado said he felt his filly would handle the added distance from her last start.

"I always thought she wouldn't have a problem stretching out," Alvarado said. "I was hoping she wouldn't get too sharp at the beginning. I knew she would get the distance for sure."

Gyarmati said the game plan was to take a wait-and-see approach.

"We really didn't have a big plan. We had the one hole and she looked in the paddock like she was pretty sharp," Gyarmati said. "I'm glad (Alvarado) did things just as he did. He let her break and she broke really well and the other horse went which was perfect because it got her to settle."

Gyarmati said she will confer with owner-breeder Jeff Treadway regarding a potential start in the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.

"Any time you're even thinking about having that kind of opportunity is wonderful," Gyarmati said. "I'll have to talk to Jeff, but I'm sure he is game and wants to go. That's a conversation we'll have to have."

Philly Eagles  completed the superfecta. Hail To  and pacesetter Charlee O rounded out the order of finish.

Sail By returned $26.60 for a $2 win bet and improved her record to 2-1-1 from four starts. She now sports earnings of $193,900.

Bred in Kentucky by her owner, Sail By is the first foal out of the Johar mare Fly By. The mare also has a yearling colt by Astern, a weanling colt by Oscar Performance  , and was bred to Goldencents   for 2022.

Video: Miss Grillo S. (G2T)

Arrest Me Red Takes Turf Sprint

Lael Stables' homebred Arrest Me Red  led wire-to-wire to capture Saturday's $200,000 Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational Stakes (G3T), a six-furlong inner turf test for 3-year-olds and up at Belmont Park.

Trained by Wesley Ward and aggressively handled from post 2 by Irad Ortiz, Jr., the 3-year-old Pioneerof the Nile colt was sent straight to the front through splits of :22.33 and :45.75 over the firm footing with Guildsman  pressing in second.

Pulsate  loomed large through the turn with Chewing Gum  also ranging in contention, but Arrest Me Red continued to find more at the top of the lane and stayed on strong for a one-length win in a final time of 1:07.86. Pulsate completed the exacta by three quarters of a length over Chewing Gum.

The victory marked the third Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational win for Ortiz following scores with Disco Partner   in 2017-18.

"He relaxed so well. He did everything right, honestly," Ortiz said of Arrest Me Red. "He broke well from the gate, and I just stayed quiet and relaxed. I was on the front, so I just was biding my time to go. He was traveling perfectly and when I asked him to run, he responded really well. Wesley did a great job with him. He's a great guy to ride for."

Arrest Me Red was sent to post as the 2-1 mutuel favorite out of a neck score in the 5 1/2-furlong Mahony Stakes Aug. 11 at Saratoga. He paid $6.60 for a $2 win wager.

Rounding out the order of finish were Backtohisroots , Therapist , Guildsman, and Buy Land and See . Piedi Bianchi  and Belgrane were scratched.

A Kentucky homebred, Arrest Me Red improved his record to four wins from six starts with earnings of $261,300. He is out of the Medaglia d'Oro   mare Maraschino Red and is a half brother to stakes winner Hidden Treat . The dam has since produced Father Red, an unraced 2-year-old Quality Road   colt, and a yearling City of Light   colt. She was bred to Honor A. P.   for 2022.

Video: Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational S. (G3T)