A pedestrian pace could have compromised Magic Attitude in Saturday’s $200,000 Sheepshead Bay S. (G2) at Belmont Park. Instead, the daughter of Galileo unleashed a spectacular burst of acceleration to defeat a deep field with ease.
Under a patient ride from jockey Trevor McCarthy, Magic Attitude was content to trail her five rivals for the first mile of the 1 3/8-mile turf test. As Saratoga Oaks winner Antoinette strolled along through casual fractions of :25.27, :51.03, 1:17.05, and 1:40.73 over the firm inner turf course, Magic Attitude was racing half a dozen lengths off the pace, seemingly too far behind to make an impact.
But even as the leaders accelerated the fifth quarter mile in a blazing :22.14, Magic Attitude began to gain ground. Sweeping into contention of the far outside, the Arnaud Delacour trainee was moving clearly best down the lane, bursting past her rivals to dominate by three lengths in 2:14.32.
“They weren’t going fast, but there’s no other way to really ride her,” Delacour told the New York Racing Association. “She needs to be switched off behind, and she has an explosive turn-of-foot, so it’s nice to train a filly of that caliber.”
Long Island (G3) winner Mutamakina held on from a pace-tracking position to finish second in her 2021 debut, followed by Always Shopping, My Sister Nat, Antoinette, and Orglandes.
Bred by Katsumi Yoshida and owned by Lael Stables, Magic Attitude was produced by the Exceed and Excel mare Margot Did. The Sheepshead Bay marked a second stakes win at Belmont for the former French campaigner, following a rousing victory over Antoinette in the 2020 Belmont Oaks (G1). It also marked a rebound from Magic Attitude’s 2021 debut, when she finished a troubled seventh in the Hillsborough (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs.
“She likes it at Belmont,” said Delacour. “It’s more like the European style for her. She can take her time, get balanced, and then produce acceleration. Last time nothing really worked out for her that day. She was really edgy in the post parade and in the paddock. Usually, she is really relaxed, like she was here. I knew that wasn’t the best set up, but she probably needed that race.”
Earlier in the afternoon, 2020 Belmont (G1) runner-up Dr Post returned with a winning effort in the $200,000 Westchester S. (G3). Unraced since a fourth-place finish in the Jim Dandy (G2) last summer, Dr Post tracked fractions of :24.53, :48.05, and 1:11.63 from second place, then edged away to beat Wicked Trick, Mr. Buff, Top Seed, Limonite, and Backsideofthemoon by 1 1/2 lengths.
Trained by Todd Pletcher on behalf of St. Elias Stable, Dr Post completed the one-mile race in 1:35.14 under jockey Manny Franco.
Also on the card, Tribhuvan gave trainer Chad Brown his fourth consecutive victory (and his fifth overall) in the $200,000 Fort Marcy S. (G2). Running for the first time in 10 months, the five-year-old gelding opened up a large early lead under jockey Eric Cancel, charging clear by as many as six lengths through splits of :23.56, :47.89, and 1:11.67. Tribhuvan’s advantage diminished down the homestretch, but sprinting the final three furlongs in :34.44 allowed the 10-1 longshot to cross the finish line 1 1/2 lengths in front of City Man, Rockemperor, Devamani, and Wissahickon.
Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael J. Caruso campaign the son of Toronado, who completed 1 1/8 miles over the inner turf course in 1:47.07.
Racing continues at Belmont Park on Sunday with the $200,000 Ruffian S. (G2).
