Brown and Motion Have Two Fillies Each In Belmont Oaks

With the big guns from England and Ireland taking a pass, the July 8 renewal of the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) features a showdown between a pair of fillies trained by Chad Brown and a duo from the barn of Graham Motion.

The nine-filly field certainly is a solid one but the mostly American makeup is unusual in a race that has been a fertile field for global powerhouses Godolphin and Coolmore in recent years.

Trainer Charlie Appleby finished second in 2022 with Godolphin's With The Moonlight . Aidan O'Brien saddled the 2021 winner, Santa Barbara , for the Coolmore partners. Pandemic precautions prevented European participation in 2020 but O'Brien sent over Just Wonderful  and Coral Beach  to finish second and seventh in 2019 when four of the nine starters were overseas guests.

O'Brien, his Coolmore patrons, and jockey Ryan Moore scored their first win in the race in 2018 with Athena .

Absent those juggernauts, Brown's record in the race stands out in the latest renewal. He has won the event six times, including last year with McKulick  and four straight years from 2012 through 2015. This year, his two fillies have a combined record of five wins from six starts.

Aspray , undefeated after three trips, brings an Irish influence via pedigree. Bred in Kentucky by Ran Jan Racing, the Quality Road   filly is from the Galileo mare Up .

Prerequisite , an Upstart   filly from the Smart Strike mare Etsu , bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones, finished fourth in her debut at Gulfstream Park in April, won at Belmont Park in May, and captured the Wonder Again Stakes (G2T) at Belmont June 11. The Wonder Again is the natural local prep for the Belmont Oaks and Brown saddled Lady Eli  in 2015 and New Money Honey  in 2017 to win both.

Motion's fillies have solid credentials of their own.

Mission of Joy , by Kitten's Joy out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Mission , might be riding a five-race winning streak had she not clipped heels and settled for third in the Edgewood Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day. She returned from that to win the Regret Stakes (G3T) over the same course June 3 and earlier put the Florida Oaks (G3T) in her win column.

"She was unlucky at Churchill a couple starts back, but she sure made up for it last time," Motion said of Mission of Joy. "She really had the worst of it when she stumbled that day. She came back well, and she shipped back from Kentucky in good order."

Motion also gets his first race-day look at Speirling Beag . The Mastercraftsman  filly was a group 3 winner in Ireland last October when trained by Jim Bolger and raced once, unplaced, in France this spring before being sent across the ocean. Motion said Speirling Beag seems a natural for the 1 1/4-mile test and likely would benefit from some give to the Belmont racing surface.

"You wouldn't mind it with her, obviously," he said. "She certainly looks like the type to handle that. But the distance is something that she'll appreciate."

While the big European guns, as noted, are giving the race a pass, the Oaks is not totally devoid of foreign intrigue as trainer James Stack ships in Aspen Grove  with Oisin Murphy along to ride. Aspen Grove, by Justify  , was last seen reporting at the back of a 10-filly field in the Irish One Thousand Guineas (G1) at the Curragh May 28, but owner Craig Bernick pins his hopes on her upset victory last August at the same racecourse.

"Her win last year was going a mile as a 2-year-old," Bernick said. "Usually, horses that can do that in Europe end up being 10-furlong horses. The trainer has always thought she would be a 10-furlong horse this year. This race is a natural place to try."

Others in the field also will be looking for improvement, but a few already have flashed the ability to compete here.

Papilio , a Starspangledbanner  filly trained by Mark Casse, won the Appalachian Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland, then was fourth in the Edgewood and second in the Regret.

"In her last start at Churchill, we were blocked and had nowhere to go for a little while and the winner got away on us," Casse said. "We tried to run her down but she had given up too much ground. With a different trip, it would have been an interesting race."

Be Your Best , a daughter of Muhaarar , finished seventh in the Appalachian but just missed to Prerequisite with a late run in the Wonder Again.

Strikingly Spun  and Freydis the Red  complete the field.

Strikingly Spun, a Hard Spun   filly trained by Joe Sharp, takes a big jump in class but earned her way in with a second-place finish, beaten just a neck, in her most recent start going 1 3/8 miles against older rivals.