Graded Test Awaits Luna Belle in Black-Eyed Susan

Undefeated through four starts this year and a winner of five consecutive stakes dating back before Christmas, Luna Belle  has been in a class of her own among 3-year-old fillies in Maryland. Come May 20, the competition grows deeper.

The Maryland standout faces 12 rivals in the $250,000 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) Friday at Pimlico Race Course, many of them from out of town. Among the invaders are Adare Manor  and Interstatedaydream , who both have graded stakes experience, something Luna Belle does not.

Owned by Deborah Greene and Maryland-based trainer Hamilton Smith and bred by Smith, Greene, and her late father, Fred Greene Jr., Luna Belle earned automatic entry into the Black-Eyed Susan by virtue of her 4 1/2-length win in the 1 1/16-mile Weber City Miss Stakes April 16 at Laurel Park, which was her two-turn debut.

During her streak, Luna Belle has won from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles. The daughter of Great Notion   stretches out yet another sixteenth for the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan.

"She's done everything that we've asked of her so far. We had another stakes we could have gone in on Black-Eyed Susan Day, the sprint, but we didn't," Smith said. "We decided that she's done enough to deserve the chance at it, and we'll see how she can perform with them. We're going to give it a whirl and hope for the best.

"If she runs the same type of race that she has in the last several, where she's able to relax off the lead a little bit, she should be tough," he added. "I would have to think there will be some speed in the race, more so than what we've had before, really. It should set up pretty good in that respect."

The second choice at odds of 9-2 on the morning line, Luna Belle drew post 6 and will be ridden for the sixth straight race by Denis Araujo.

The 5-2 program favorite for the Black-Eyed Susan is Michael Lund Petersen's Adare Manor, a 13-length winner of the one-mile Las Virgenes (G3) Feb. 6 at Santa Anita Park. The Uncle Mo   filly was beaten a neck when second in the Santa Anita Oaks (G2) April 9, just failing to withstand the rally of Desert Dawn , the eventual third-place finisher in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Adare Manor, now trained by Sean McCarthy, and jockey John Velazquez drew post 10.

Flurry Racing Stables' Interstatedaydream (6-1) enters the Black-Eyed Susan having run third to Nest —subsequently second in the Kentucky Oaks—in Keeneland's 1 1/16-mile Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) after setting the pace. The Classic Empire   filly won twice last summer before getting the rest of the year off, returning with an 8 1/4-length allowance optional claiming triumph March 13 at Oaklawn Park.

"She's doing great," trainer Brad Cox said.

Florent Geroux rides the speedy 3-year-old, one of several frontrunners in the lineup.

Also grade 1-placed is Bradley Thoroughbreds, Gary Finder, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Tim Cambron, Anna Cambron, and Team Hanley's Distinctlypossible  (8-1), who won a maiden race in her only start this year. The Chad Brown trainee ran second in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) as a maiden last fall.

Entries: George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2)

Pimlico Race Course, Friday, May 20, 2022, Race 13

• Grade II
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 5:44 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Divine Huntress (MD)	Flavien Prat	118	H. Graham Motion	15/1
2	2Missy Greer (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Danny Gargan	20/1
3	3Miss Yearwood (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	118	Ian R. Wilkes	20/1
4	4Midnight Stroll (FL)	Javier Castellano	118	John P. Terranova II	15/1
5	5Beguine (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Daniel C. Peitz	12/1
6	6Luna Belle (MD)	Denis Araujo	120	Hamilton A. Smith	9/2
7	7Distinctlypossible (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Chad C. Brown	6/1
8	8Candy Light (KY)	Charlie Marquez	118	H. Graham Motion	20/1
9	9Interstatedaydream (ON)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	6/1
10	10Adare Manor (KY)	John R. Velazquez	122	Sean McCarthy	5/2
11	11Radio Days (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Claude R. McGaughey III	12/1
12	12Favor (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	118	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
13	13Morning Matcha (PA)	Frankie Pennington	118	Robert E. Reid, Jr.	20/1