Brant's High-Class Trio Leads Small Cast in Just a Game

Appropriately, the $500,000 Longines Just a Game Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park June 11, named after Peter Brant's 1980 champion female turf horse, has a current Brant influence.

Brant owns the three favorites among the five entries in the one-mile grass race: Regal Glory , Speak of the Devil , and In Italian —all trained by Chad Brown.

Leading the charge is 6-year-old dual grade 1 winner Regal Glory, a daughter of Animal Kingdom , who has won six of her past eight races, with her worst effort being a fourth in this race last year behind Godolphin's Althiqa . She exits consecutive victories in the Matriarch Stakes (G1T) in November at Del Mar; the TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by PEPSI (G3T) in January at Gulfstream Park; and the Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) in April at Keeneland. She will be ridden by Jose Ortiz from post 2.

"She's training super and you can see from her races that she's never been better," Brown said. "She has exceeded all expectations this season. She's the top turf mare in the country until proven otherwise. It would be great to get it done for Peter." 

Speak of the Devil, purchased for the equivalent of $2.2 million at the Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, was an emphatic winner of her stateside bow in the Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes (G2T) May 7 at Churchill Downs, out-kicking stablemate In Italian by 2 3/4 lengths. 

A five-time winner in 14 starts in France prior to joining Brown, she will be looking for her first top-level victory but has gone quite close before. Last August, she was a head third in the Prix Rothschild (G1T) at Deauville and in June 2020 she was a nose second in the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (G1), both over one mile.

Flavien Prat has the return call from post 3, while Irad Ortiz Jr. rides In Italian from post 4. 

"Speak of the Devil has come out of her race well and all signs say that she's a mare who is moving forward," Brown said. "With In Italian, I think it depends on the ground for her. She's training well." 

Gary Barber and Team Valor International's Wakanaka , trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, was a distant third in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile and second in the Honey Fox (G3T). 

"I think she is training better than ever," said Barry Irwin, founder and CEO of Team Valor. "She will appreciate a return to racing around one turn." 

Completing the field is William Sims' Leggs Galore , who ships east for trainer Phil D'Amato on the strength of three consecutive stakes victories, including the Buena Vista (G2T) March 5 at Santa Anita Park over the mile distance. 

Entries: Longines Just a Game S. (G1T)

Belmont Park, Saturday, June 11, 2022, Race 4

• Grade IT
• 1m
• Turf
• $500,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 1:08 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Leggs Galore (CA)	Ricardo Gonzalez	120	Philip D'Amato	12/1
2	2Regal Glory (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	124	Chad C. Brown	6/5
3	3Speak of the Devil (FR)	Flavien Prat	122	Chad C. Brown	1/1
4	4In Italian (GB)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Chad C. Brown	9/2
5	5Wakanaka (IRE)	Joel Rosario	118	William I. Mott	15/1