Holy Helena, Santa Monica Meet Again in Sheepshead Bay

Belmont Park will get its moment in the Triple Crown spotlight June 8 when the final leg of the series is contested, yet the home of the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) will be quite busy May 4 playing host to three graded stakes on Kentucky Derby Day.

The 12-race card features the $200,000 Sheepshead Bay (G2T), the $200,000 Westchester Stakes (G3), and the $150,000 Fort Marcy Stakes (G3T), with all three scheduled to be run prior to the 6:50 p.m. EDT post time for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

With rain in the forecast for much of the week, the day's two turf stakes, the Sheepshead Bay and Fort Marcy, could be impacted by the weather.

The Sheepshead Bay attracted a field of eight (including two main track only entrants) that features a rematch of the 2018 Sheepshead Bay when R Unicorn Stable's Santa Monica ran third behind the victorious Holy Helena from Stronach Stables.

Holy Helena is coming into Saturday's race off a victory in the The Very One Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park in which she prevailed by a head and registered her first victory since capturing the Sheepshead Bay a year ago. The 5-year-old homebred daughter of Ghostzapper  snapped a six-race losing streak that included a sixth-place finish in the La Prevoyante Stakes (G3T) over a soggy, yielding turf course at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26. 

Three of six losses for Holy Helena came on surfaces rated as something other than firm, conditions that could be awaiting her on Saturday in the 1 3/8-mile test for fillies and mares.

"She doesn't seem to be as effective over the boggy going and we're not getting the greatest forecast in the world but maybe we'll get lucky," trainer Jimmy Jerkens said. "I think she'll do some more good things this year. I like how she's done since she came back from Florida. We're hoping for a nice trip and as long as the turf isn't too soft you should see her usual self."

Holy Helena, a winner of seven of 16 starts, also won the The Very One in 2018 en route to her victory in the Sheepshead Bay. Out of the Holy Bull mare Holy Grace, the Ontario-bred won Canada's most famous race, the Queen's Plate Stakes in 2017 and has career earnings of $1,175,578.

Santa Monica made her second start in the United States when she finished third in the 2018 Sheepshead Bay, winding up a half-length behind Holy Helena. A winner of the Dance Smartly Stakes (G2T) since then for trainer Chad Brown, the 6-year-old daughter of Mastercraftsman was last seen winning the Orchid Stakes (G3T) by a head at Gulfstream Park March 29. 

Prior to that she had no trouble with a wet turf course, finishing second by a length as the 2-1 favorite in the La Prevoyante.

Having started her career in Europe, she has a record of five wins and four seconds from 30 starts with earnings of $433,024.

The field also includes Team Penney Racing's Giant Zinger, who was third in the Orchid, John M.B. O'Connor's Semper Sententiae, the third-place finisher in the The Very One, and Calumet Farm's Vexatious, unraced since grabbing third in the Red Carpet Handicap (G3T) Nov. 22 at Del Mar.

Speaking of Brown, the three-time Eclipse Award winning trainer has three of the nine entrants (including one listed as main track only) in the 1 1/8-mile Fort Marcy for older horses, topped by Convento Viejo's Robert Bruce, the Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes (G1T) winner who will be making his 2019 debut.

Robert Bruce has not raced since finishing seventh in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. He made his U.S. debut with a victory in the 2018 Fort Marcy and also has a second in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) included in a record of two wins and a second in five U.S. starts.

Much like Robert Bruce a year ago, Brown's other two starters, Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stable, and Bethlehem Stables' Olympico and Estrela Nova's Arrocha are making their stateside debuts.

Olympico, a winner of three of 13 starts on turf, has not raced since winning a Nov. 11 allowance race in France, while Arrocha is a multiple group 1 winner of turf in Brazil whose last start was a winning effort in the Copa ABCPCC Mathias Machline (G1T) in Brazil.

Treadway Racing Stable's Maraud, a multiple graded turf stakes winner last year for trainer Todd Pletcher, will try to improve off a third-place finish in the Danger's Hour Stakes April 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack that kicked off his 4-year-old campaign and ended a seven-month layoff.

The field also includes Dr. Edgar, winner of the Appleton Stakes (G3T) for owners Peter and Eloise Canzone Sr. and trainer Barclay Tagg in his last start, and Calumet Farm's Channel Cat, who begins his 2019 season for Pletcher after closing out 2018 with wins in the Bald Eagle Derby at Laurel Park and the Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs.

The one-mile Westchester, the lone dirt stakes, drew a field of eight older horses headed by Daniel McConnell's Prince Lucky. The Pennsylvania-bred son of Corinthian won the Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (G2) and the Hal's Hope Stakes (G3) for Pletcher in his last two starts by a combined margin of 10 3/4 lengths, which came after an eight-month layoff following a victory in the June 9 Easy Goer Stakes at Belmont Park.

Trainer Jason Servis is hoping a return to Belmont Park will bring out the best in the 2018 New Jersey-Bred of the Year Sunny Ridge, who is winless in five starts since taking the State Dinner Stakes on July 6 at Beautiful Belmont. Owned by Monmouth Park CEO Dennis Drazin, Sunny Ridge has won six of 23 career starts and earned $1,209,577.

Calumet Farm's Bandua comes into the Westchester off a fourth in the New Orleans Handicap (G2), his first start on dirt.

Courtlandt Farms' Carlino returns to action in the eight-furlong stakes following a seven-month break after finishing fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) Sept. 29 at 69-1 odds.

Post time for the Westchester, the 11th of 12 races, is 5:40 p.m. 

The card will conclude with a maiden claiming race scheduled for a 6:15 p.m. start.

Entries: Sheepshead Bay S. (G2T)

Belmont Park, Saturday, May 04, 2019, Race 4

• Grade II
• 1 3/8m
• Inner turf
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 1:36 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Lady Montdore (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	120	Thomas Albertrani	4/1
2	2Semper Sententiae (KY)	Dylan Davis	116	Mark A. Hennig	6/1
3	3Unbridledadventure (NY)	Rider TBA	118	Bruce N. Levine	12/1
4	4Matty's Magnum (KY)	Rider TBA	123	David G. Donk	3/1
5	5Holy Helena (ON)	Jose Lezcano	120	James A. Jerkens	5/2
6	6Santa Monica (GB)	Joe Bravo	118	Chad C. Brown	8/5
7	7Giant Zinger (NY)	Eric Cancel	116	William I. Mott	10/1
8	8Vexatious (KY)	Adam Beschizza	118	Neil D. Drysdale	5/1

Entries: Fort Marcy S. (G3T)

Belmont Park, Saturday, May 04, 2019, Race 10

• Grade III
• 1 1/8m
• Inner turf
• $150,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:56 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Control Group (NY)	Rider TBA	119	Rudy R. Rodriguez	1/1
2	2Robert Bruce (CHI)	Jose Lezcano	121	Chad C. Brown	4/5
3	3Olympico (FR)	Kendrick Carmouche	115	Chad C. Brown	12/1
4	4Cullum Road (KY)	Reylu Gutierrez	117	Michael J. Maker	20/1
5	5Channel Cat (KY)	Adam Beschizza	121	Todd A. Pletcher	10/1
6	6Dr. Edgar (KY)	Dylan Davis	119	Barclay Tagg	5/1
7	7Doctor Mounty (KY)	Emmanuel Esquivel	121	Claude R. McGaughey III	6/1
8	8Maraud (KY)	Eric Cancel	121	Todd A. Pletcher	10/1
9	9Arrocha (BRZ)	Joe Bravo	119	Chad C. Brown	8/1

Entries: Westchester S. (G3)

Belmont Park, Saturday, May 04, 2019, Race 11

• Grade III
• 1m
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 5:40 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sunny Ridge (NJ)	Jose Lezcano	115	Jason Servis	7/2
2	2Realm (VA)	Kendrick Carmouche	115	Barclay Tagg	20/1
3	3Carlino (KY)	Eric Cancel	115	Mark A. Hennig	12/1
4	4Stan the Man (KY)	Dylan Davis	119	John P. Terranova II	8/1
5	5Bandua (KY)	Adam Beschizza	115	Jack Sisterson	10/1
6	6Hoffenheim (KY)	Reylu Gutierrez	115	Jeremiah C. Englehart	15/1
7	7Nicodemus (KY)	Michael J. Luzzi	117	Linda Rice	8/1
8	8Prince Lucky (PA)	Joe Bravo	123	Todd A. Pletcher	4/5