Rushing Fall starts year as mare on a mission

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though Rushing Fall certainly has a résumé that would make her extremely valuable as a broodmare, owner Bob Edwards said it was a simple decision to bring the four-time Grade 1-winning mare back for a 5-year-old campaign.

“Because horse racing’s fun,” Edwards said Thursday from Florida. “Had I known we were going to have a pandemic it might have been a different story, but I love racing. That’s why we kept her.”

The coronavirus pandemic has delayed Rushing Fall’s 5-year-old debut. It will now come in Wednesday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Beaugay Stakes, the opening-day feature of Belmont Park’s reduced 25-day meet.

On Thursday, Rushing Fall worked a half-mile in 50.43 seconds over the Belmont Park turf course, breezing in company with Fifty Five, the multiple New York-bred stakes winner who also will target the Beaugay.

Rushing Fall, a daughter of More Than Ready, has won Grade 1 races at 2, 3, and 4. Last year, Rushing Fall won the Just a Game and Jenny Wiley – both Grade 1s – before finishing second to stablemate Sistercharlie in the Grade 1 Diana. She ended her year with a fourthplace finish in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland.

Chad Brown, Rushing Fall’s trainer, said the possibility of winning a Grade 1 stakes for four consecutive years with her is intriguing. Brown believes the only other filly he’s trained to do that was Lady Eli (2014-17).

“She’s very valuable as a broodmare, but having the opportunity to potentially put herself in really rare company of winning Grade 1s in four straight years is very hard to do,” Brown said. “I think that played into it some. Although [Edwards] is a breeder as well, he’s a real sportsman and he loves to see his horses run, and she clearly is one of the best horses he’s had.”

The disappointment for Edwards is that he won’t be able to see Rushing Fall’s race in person because owners and spectators will not be permitted at Belmont for the foreseeable future.

“I enjoy being at the track,” Edwards said. “I’m disappointed we can’t be there.”

Entries for the Beaugay were to be taken Friday. In addition to the Brown duo, others expected to run include Got Stormy, Call Me Love, Feel Glorious, Passing Out, and possibly Mitchell Road, Noor Sahara, and Xenobia.

Sadler’s Joy on friendly ground

When last seen in New York, Sadler’s Joy won the Grade 3 Red Smith Stakes last fall at Aqueduct, ending a 10-race losing streak.

The 7-year-old Sadler’s Joy, winner of the Grade 1 Sword Dancer in 2017, is back in New York where next Thursday he will run in the $80,000 Tiller Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Belmont Park.

On Thursday morning, Sadler’s Joy worked a halfmile in 50.78 seconds over the Belmont main track, his first local drill since returning from South Florida.

Sadler’s Joy has run twice this year, finishing sixth of 12 in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and third in the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida, both at Gulfstream Park.

“I thought we were a little unlucky in the Pegasus Turf,” trainer Tom Albertrani said. “He got shut off pretty good leaving the gate. Last race, he got pinched on the turn. With him, it’s always about getting a good trip.”

Sadler’s Joy, a four-time graded stakes winner and earner of $2.5 million, earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure when he was third to Zulu Alpha in the Mac Diarmida. It was his 16th triple-digit Beyer.

“From what I can tell, he looks like he’s still got something left and we’ll keep going until he shows us different,” Albertrani said.

Despite its ungraded status and $80,000 pot, the Tiller is expected to attract a talented field that could include Apreciado, Channel Maker, Corelli, Cross Border, Dot Matrix, Go Poke the Bear, Hayabusa One, He’s No Lemon, Highland Sky, and Standard Deviation.

Carter has added allure

The Grade 1 Carter Handicap, moved from Aqueduct to the Belmont meet and scheduled for June 6, has been designated a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

The Carter, run at seven furlongs, was originally scheduled for April 4 at Aqueduct, but was postponed when that track’s spring meet was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Carter will replace the John A. Nerud as a Win and You’re In race for the sprint division. The Nerud, originally scheduled for July 4, was not brought back when the Belmont Stakes schedule was revised for the now 25-day meet.

As the first Grade 1 race of the year to be run in New York, the Carter is expected to attract a large field led by Grade 1 winners Firenze Fire and Mind Control. Others pointing to the race include Bon Raison, Killybegs Captain, Network Effect, and Nitrous. Nicodemus and Wicked Trick are possible.