Brown Trio Challenge Kitten's Point in Waya

The Brown-trained Goldy Espony leaves from the rail in the 1 1/2-mile test, and looks to have the only early speed in this contest. She is coming off a wire-to-wire 1 1/2-mile score at Belmont Park in the River Memories Stakes. Late last year she came from well off the pace to finish third in the Valley View Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Keeneland. The French-bred is also a group III winner in her homeland. 

 

Kitten's Point looms here as the most accomplished runner. Two races back she took the Bewitch Stakes (gr. IIIT) atKeeneland and earlier this season won the Astra Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Trained by Graham Motion, she comes off a third in the Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (gr. IIIT) and has missed hitting the board just once in her past five starts.

 

Danza Cavallo, another from Brown's barn, is a stakes winner in her native France and an allowance winner in three tries domestically. She was a rallying fifth in the May 25 Gamely (gr. IT) in California. Cat's Claw is the defending Waya champ, taking last year's edition when it was a listed stakes. She has failed to win since, though she finished less than a length back in the Dowager Stakes at Keeneland. 

 

Queen's Parade finished ahead of Kitten's Point in the Robert G. Dick Memorial, missing the victory by just a head in her first stakes attempt. She appears to have upside. Chat finished fifth in that event but would seem to need more pace to run at than what appears in these running lines. Eastern Belle ran a strong second in the New York Stakes (gr. IIT) at Belmont and is a stakes winner in England. She looks to be quality, but is another that comes from well off the pace.

 

Evidently won a stakes restricted to Florida-breds in April, while Selenite did the same in New York-bred company last summer at Saratoga. She was far back in the New York Stakes, however.

 

White Rose, Hellenistic, and Nice Number would need to elevate their games to threaten here.