Uni, Sistercharlie among Brown workers

ELMONT, N.Y. – Twenty horses worked over the Belmont turf course during a little more than a half-hour span Sunday morning. Half of that group came from the barn of trainer Chad Brown, three of whom are expected to compete in graded stakes here Saturday, including Uni, who is slated to make her first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile in the Grade 1 Just a Game.

Uni worked in a star-studded pairing alongside champion Sistercharlie, with little separating the duo after they breezed an easy five furlongs around the wide dogs. They got their final quarter in 23.14 seconds, according to Daily Racing Form.

“I thought they both worked great,” Brown said. “We’re playing a little bit of catch-up with Uni. She was training fine in Florida, had gotten in a few works, then popped a splint, which I had to freeze fire and cool out. She’s trained great since she’s come back, although we’re up against it to make the Just a Game.”

Brown, who could have as many as four starters in the one-mile Just a Game, also sent out Fools Gold and My Sister Nat to work five furlongs in separate sets Sunday with an eye toward Saturday’s Grade 2 New York Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile turf race for fillies and mares. Neither horse has started this season. Fools Gold has been idle since a fourth-place finish in the Zagora Stakes on Nov. 3, and My Sister Nat has been sidelined since missing by a neck in the Grade 3 Long Island on Nov. 30.

“It’s not ideal to run these horses off the layoff going a mile and one-quarter, but 2020 is a weird year and it has forced us to do things we normally wouldn’t do,” Brown said.

Among Brown’s other notable turf workers Sunday were Raging Bull and Without Parole, who breezed five furlongs under a strong hold in company in 1:01.05, with both pointing to Keeneland’s Maker’s Mark Mile, and Fifty Five, who he said is “back on track” after missing the Beaugay due to a wrenched ankle. Brown also noted that he is considering prepping Sistercharlie in either the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland or the Ballston Spa at Saratoga for her primary goal this summer, a third straight victory in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga.

– Mike Welsch

Promises Fulfilled gets started

Promises Fulfilled will make his 5-year-old debut in Saturday’s Grade 2, $150,000 True North Stakes at Belmont Park.

A five-time graded stakes winner, Promises Fulfilled has not run since finishing sixth as the 9-5 favorite in the Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland last October. Trained by Dale Romans, Promises Fulfilled was brought back to race this year because his connections thought there would be ample opportunity to run for lucrative purses.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, some stakes have been canceled or postponed, or had their purses cut. For example, the True North is typically worth $250,000.

“Nobody was expecting coronavirus,” Romans said. “We thought we could make a whole lot of money running this year. Corona’s kind of backed us up a bit.”

Promises Fulfilled ran one of his best races at Belmont last year, winning the Grade 2 John Nerud by 4 1/2 lengths, earning a career-best 108 Beyer Speed Figure.

Promises Fulfilled will be ridden by Luis Saez.

Others expected for the True North, run at 6 1/2 furlongs, are Diamond King, Lexitonian, Midnightcharly, Nicodemus, Stan the Man, T Loves a Fight, and Yorkton. Possibles include Diamond Oops, Firenze Fire, Nitrous, and Wicked Trick.

Come Dancing tops Vagrancy

Grade 1 winner Come Dancing will return to sprinting and Belmont Park when she heads the field for Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Vagrancy Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs.

Come Dancing came off a 6 1/2-month layoff in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at 1 1/16 miles around two turns at Oaklawn and finished 12th of 14.

After a brief visit to the Fair Hill Training Center, Come Dancing returned to trainer Carlos Martin at Belmont Park, where the mare put in two sharp workouts, including a five-furlong move in 57.94 seconds over the main track June 15.

The Belmont main track has been extremely fast in the mornings for most of the meet.

“Everything seems fine. We have to get her back on track sprinting at Belmont,” Martin said. “She’s got to show up and be the same Come Dancing, but I don’t see any reason that would indicate otherwise. ”

Last year, Come Dancing won the Gallant Bloom and Ruffian, both Grade 2 stakes, over Belmont’s main track.

Come Dancing was made the 124-pound highweight for the Vagrancy. Others pointing to the race include Royal Charlotte (122 pounds), Chalon (121), Mother Mother (120), Pacific Gale (118), Victim of Love (118), A Bit of Both (117), and possibly Unique Factor (117).