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Filly takes easy tour of Belmont Alice Muller's TAKE D'TOUR (Tour d'Or) quickly moved to the front when the gates opened for the $300,000 Ogden Phipps H. (G1) at Belmont Park on Saturday and was never really challenged en route to a 5 1/2-length victory as the 3-1 second choice. With Cornelio Velasquez holding the reins, the David Fawkes-trained chestnut was up by a half-length through a quarter in :23 2/5, had a 1 1/2-length advantage through a half in :46, then had that margin cut back to a half-length by the time six furlongs was run in 1:10 1/5. Velasquez roused his mount approaching the stretch and she drew off willingly, opening up by six lengths on Nothing But Fun (Dixie Union) through a mile in 1:35 4/5 before finishing the 1 1/16-mile fast track test in 1:42 3/5. "She really fell into our program in Miami," Fawkes said. "She had some bleeding issues; once we got those under control, her health really improved. It's a lot of fun to watch her run them off their feet." Take d'Tour rewarded her supporters with payouts of $8.70, $6.10 and $3.90 while keying the $58.50 exacta. Nothing But Fun moved up into second after the first quarter and held that position throughout, finishing 7 3/4 lengths in front of third-placer Balletto (UAE) (Timber Country) at 5-1 to pay $7.40 and $5.80. Balletto rallied from last to take third by a neck over even-money favorite Spun Sugar (Awesome Again), giving back $4.80 at 6-1 while ending the $252 trifecta (4-5-7). Spun Sugar had 3 1/4 lengths on Bending Strings (American Chance), who was followed by Grecian Lover (Friendly Lover) and In the Gold (Golden Missile). Take d'Tour earned her first stakes win in the Shuvee H. (G2) prior to this one, and now boasts a 16-7-5-0 career mark with $388,240 in lifetime earnings. Since transferring to Fawkes, the five-year-old mare has won four of five. Bred in Florida by Paul Muller, Take d'Tour is the first stakes winner out of the winning Cherry Flare (Mr. Washington).
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