Belmont at Big A: Beautiful Love looks pretty in Jockey Club Oaks

Photo:

NYRA / Adam Coglianese / Coglianese Photo

Beautiful Love rallied to an impressive 1 1/2-length victory
under Dylan Davis to capture Saturday’s Grade 3, $350,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational, a 1 3/8-mile, inner-turf test for 3-year-old fillies at the
Belmont at Aqueduct meet.

The victory by the Ireland-bred filly completed a
Godolphin-homebred and Charlie Appleby-trained sweep of the New York Racing
Association’s invitational turf series for sophomore fillies that saw
Cinderella’s Dream, who was scratched from the E. P. Taylor (G1) at Woodbine,
take both the Belmont Oaks (G1) and the Saratoga Oaks (G2).

Click here for Belmont at Aqueduct entries and results.

It also marked the eighth graded win for Appleby in New York
this year. Nikki Jones, traveling assistant for Appleby, said the team was
confident Beautiful Love would improve in her second U.S. start while
stretching out significantly from her sixth-place effort in the 1 1/16-mile Lake
Placid (G2) on Aug. 17 at Saratoga.

“Charlie had no doubts she’d see out the trip. She was great,
and she has been good as gold,” Jones said. “She needed the race as well. We
brought her here and thought she was fit, healthy and well and thought she’d do
it, and she did.”

Lane Luzzi-piloted Macanga set an ambitious tempo opening up
by as many as 10 lengths through splits of 23.39, 47.21 and 1:12.32 over the
firm footing in front of the New York-bred Caldwell Luvs Gold with Justdeny
tracking from third. Beautiful Love, off a step slow, was content to save
ground in eighth position.

Macanga continued to show the way into the final turn
through one mile in 1:37.45 with Beautiful Love advancing with purpose from
eighth in front of only the favorite Lady Mary and the trailing Egyptian Candy.

Macanga clung to a precarious lead at the top of the lane as
Mixologist made a rail run under Hall of Famer Mike Smith while Caldwell Luvs
Gold and Justdeny battled side by side with Beautiful Love looming large and
gaining ground with powerful strides down the center of the course.

Beautiful Love, full of run while racing eight wide, took
command inside the final 70 yards and crossed the wire a much-the-best winner with
a final time of 2:15.28.

Justdeny earned place honors by a nose over the game
Caldwell Luvs Gold. Mont Saint Michel completed the superfecta with Lady
Madonna, Mixologist, Americandreammaker, Lady Mary, Macanga and Egyptian Candy
rounding out the order of finish. Miss Roberts was scratched.

Davis, who won three races on the card, said he knew his
filly had a lot to do turning for home.

“It took a little bit from the three-eighths pole to get her
into gear,” Davis said. “Once we got her into the stretch and into the clear, I
started asking for some more from her, and she responded really nicely. I
wasn’t even 100 percent on her. She got into gear maybe 80 percent, and I just
kept her in good rhythm to the wire. I knew that we had it done.”

Davis said he kept his nerve while waiting for Macanga to
come back to the field.

“With the front leader like that, lone leader, there’s a lot
of guys that are going to want to be patient, and once someone starts moving,
the whole pack moves,” Davis said. “Because I was in the two path, one path
most of the way, I opted for the outside path and a nice, clear run all the way
to the wire. She was able to get the job done.”

Jockey Júnior Alvarado said Danny Gargan-trained Justdeny
performed admirably in her stakes debut to win the in-race battle with Caldwell
Luvs Gold.

“We got to save ground every step of the way, and when I
turned for home and tipped her on the outside, she gave me a good kick,”
Alvarado said. “I got into a head to head with (Caldwell Luvs Gold) and kind of
got caught by surprise when the other horse went by us on the outside. She ran
a great race and was there for me. She was trying.”

Beautiful Love, by Siyouni, arrived in the U.S. from a pair
of February starts at Meydan starting with a runner-up effort to eventual Grade
1-winning stablemate Cinderella’s Dream in the seven-furlong Jumeirah Fillies
Classic ahead of a six-length romp in a one-mile conditions race.

Beauitful Love’s third dam Snow Bride produced Nijinsky-sired
multiple Group 1 winner Lammtarra, who captured the 1995 Prix de l’Arc de
Triomphe.

With the win, Beautiful Love banked $192,500 while improving
her record to 8: 3-2-1 and returned $9.20 for a $2 win bet.