Havre de Grace sets sights on Beldame; Ask the Moon to head
west
Less than 12 hours after her impressive victory over the boys in Saturday’s
Woodward S. (G1) at Saratoga, HAVRE DE GRACE (Saint Liam) was on the road back
to trainer Larry Jones’ base at Delaware Park.
“We left early to beat the traffic, and the trip was fine,” Jones said after
their arrival late Sunday morning. “She came out of the race well, and
everything is good.”
Jones and owner Rick Porter have the $300,000 Beldame S. (G1) at Belmont Park
on October 1 penciled in for the four-year-old filly’s next start as she points
toward either the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1) or the Breeders’ Cup
Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs in November.
“More than likely it will be the Beldame, depending on the next couple of
days,” said Jones, who celebrated Havre de Grace’s victory with a trip to Boston
Market for take-out. “But she came out of the race very, very well.”
The Beldame could serve up a clash with three-year-old filly ROYAL DELTA
(Empire Maker), who romped in the Alabama S. (G1) on August 20.
“We don’t have anything definite for her at this point,” Hall of Fame trainer
Bill Mott said. “We’ll go to Belmont, and she’ll be nominated for the Beldame.”
Royal Delta returned to the worktab on Saturday for the first time since the
Alabama, strolling an easy half-mile in :51 3/5, and came out of the breeze “just
fine,” Mott noted Sunday morning.
The list of prospective Beldame rivals doesn’t include ASK THE MOON (Malibu Moon),
Wolfson explained that Ask the Moon won’t go to the Beldame, going 1 1/8
The $75,000 claim by Farnsworth Stables came to Saratoga this summer and won
“I’m pleased but not surprised,” Wolfson said. “I’ve been very high on this
Ultimately Ask the Moon will aim for the Breeders’ Cup and then be sold in
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“That’s been the plan all along,” Wolfson said.