Zhukova Looks for More Belmont Success in Flower Bowl

Zhukova will look to make a triumphant return to Belmont Park in headlining an accomplished group of six fillies and mares 3-years-old and up in the Oct. 8 $500,000 Flower Bowl Stakes (G1T).

The Flower Bowl is a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) Nov. 4 at Del Mar.

Irish-bred Zhukova made an immediate impression in her North American debut, winning the grade 1 Man o' War Stakes by six lengths against males May 13 at 1 3/8 miles on Belmont's Widener turf course. The 5-year-old Dermot Weld trainee will now return to New York to contest the Flower Bowl at 1 1/4 miles.

"It's nice to have won here before. It gives us confidence, that's why we're back there with her. The Flower Bowl is a prestigious race and we look forward to competing," Weld said.

Zhukova returned to her native country for her last two races, finishing fourth in the Pretty Polly Stakes (G1) July 2 before running eighth in the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes (G1) Sept. 9.

"We've been pleased with her in every race. We were satisfied with her, she ran a good race last time out in the Irish Champion," Weld said. "Coming early gave us a chance to get acclimated to the climate. Traveling takes a bit out of her. She travels all right, but she'll appreciate the extra time."

Weld, who won the Flower Bowl in 2003 with his only other entrant Dimitrova, will have regular jockey Patrick Smullen on board.

Trainer Chad Brown, who has won the last three runnings of the Flower Bowl and has four victories in the race overall, will saddle a pair of formidable challengers, including Grand Jete, who has three wins and a second-place finish in her first four North American starts since arriving from France.

Grand Jete, who won the Eatontown Stakes (G3T) June 3 at Monmouth Park, scored against allowance company in her Belmont debut July 14 before making the step up to grade 1 competition, finishing second in a dead heat with Dona Bruja behind stablemate Dacita in the Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) Aug. 12.

Grand Jete, owned by Juddmonte Farms, will be coming off a nearly two-month layoff between races, a similar interval that led to her 1 1/4-length win in the Eatontown.

"She's doing great," said Brown, who won last year's Flower Bowl with Lady Eli. "I don't think she needs that much time, but she can be effective when it's spaced out. She had a nightmare of a trip down on the inside but ran well. She's a tough filly."

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will ride Grand Jete for the first time from the rail.

Dacita has made 10 starts—all against graded stakes company—since arriving from her native Chile in 2015 and has four wins and three runner-up finishes. The 6-year-old Scat Daddy mare captured the Beverly D. last time out in which she stalked the pacesetters before going four wide at the top of the stretch.

After back-to-back fourth-place finishes in graded stakes, trainer Brendan Walsh said Beauly will see if she can meet the challenge of her first grade 1 appearance. The 4-year-old English-bred, who made her first start in the U.S. in May, won her first race this year in the Indiana General Assembly Distaff Stakes on turf July 15 at Indiana Grand Race Course before finishing fourth in both the Violet Stakes (G3T) in August and the grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sept. 9.

"We just wanted to give her a shot in a grade 1. Since she ran her last race, she came out of it really good and this time of year you are a little limited in options as far as graded stakes are concerned," Walsh said. "It is probably going to be light enough on numbers up there, and I know the quality is still going to be very high, but numbers-wise it may be light, so maybe we can shake it up a little bit."