Filly Star of Mystery Faces Males in Quick Call

For virtually all of the nine turf entrants in the $175,000 Quick Call Stakes (G3T), there was probably a sense of relief that trainer Chad Brown's name was not among the entries.

But as much as America's premier turf trainer will be sitting out the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds—none of his horses were among the race's original 17 nominees—the field does include a starter from one of Europe's top turf trainers.

British trainer Charlie Appleby, winning at a 37% clip lifetime with his North American starters, will send out Godolphin's homebred twice grade/group 1-placed filly Star of Mystery  in the July 14 Quick Call at Saratoga Race Course. She was scratched from the July 12 Coronation Cup at Saratoga, where she had also been entered.

Star of Mystery, a daughter of Kodiac , gets some class relief in the Quick Call after finishing a solid third behind older males during a world-record performance by Cogburn  in the June 8 Jaipur Stakes (G1T) at the Spa. Sent off at 9-2 odds, she finished 3 3/4 lengths behind in the 5 1/2-furlong turf race that was clocked in in a record :59.80.

In her previous start, she also faced older males in the $1.5 million Al Quoz Sprint (G1T) in Dubai and finished second, three-quarters of a length behind California Spangle .

Prior to that, she took on males when second in the Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint (G3T) and when she won the Blue Point Sprint (G2T). These overseas starts were at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Another with international experience, though from last year, is Bregman Family Racing, Ivan Carbrera, and Edge Racing's No Nay Mets . Trainer George Weaver sent the No Nay Never  colt to England last year and ran ninth in the Norfolk Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot.

He also tried to tackle older rivals in the Jaipur but finished 12th and last at 25-1 odds.  

The multiple stakes winner started 2024 with a fourth in the Palisades Stakes at Keeneland followed by a second in the William Walker Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Stonestreet Stables' Fandom  makes his first start for trainer Brad Cox after winning the Palisades by a neck over Quick Call starter Mansa Musa  and will try to push his record in United States turf races to 3-for-3.

"He's doing well at Saratoga. We've breezed him a few times and we like what we've seen from him," Cox said. "He's a really good-looking horse and he's obviously lightly raced. He has won a couple races, so there's not a lot of options, but based off what he's accomplished in his short career, I definitely think he fits with this group."

Previously trained by Wesley Ward, the son of Showcasing  raced at Royal Ascot last year and finished 11th in the Coventry Stakes (G2).

Gary Barber and Team Valor International's Mansa Musa is coming off a June 8 allowance win at the Spa in which he rallied from seventh in midstretch to prevail by a neck. 

A son of Ten Sovereigns , he was a troubled fourth in the William Walker as the 2-1 favorite.