Belmont At The Big A Picks | Wonder Again Stakes 2024

Trainer Chad Brown will send out a trio of strong contenders in Sweet Rebecca, Segesta and Grayosh as he looks to secure a record-extending sixth score in Monday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Wonder Again, a nine-furlong outer turf test for sophomore fillies, at the Belmont at the Big A meet.

The first three finishers of the Wonder Again will receive an automatic invite to the Grade 1, $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks, a 1 3/16-mile turf test for sophomore fillies on July 6 here.

The Wonder Again is slated as Race 2 on Monday’s nine-race program. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. 

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Resolute Racing’s Sweet Rebecca [post 6, Tyler Gaffalione] is undefeated in two starts and arrives from an impressive 1 1/2-length score here while making her stakes debut on April 28 in the one-mile Listed Memories of Silver.

With returning pilot Tyler Gaffalione up, Sweet Rebecca tracked in fourth position as Faith Understood marked splits of 24.65 seconds and 49.38 over the firm footing. Gaffalione tipped his filly out for the stretch run, and she flew home to score in a final time of 1:35.79.

Sweet Rebecca was acquired by John Stewart’s Resolute Racing shortly after a successful debut for conditioner Brendan Walsh going one-mile on March 10 at Gulfstream Park.

She has worked back twice since the Memories of Silver, including a half-mile breeze in 49.10 on May 19 over the Belmont Park dirt training track.

Bred in Kentucky by Mt Brilliant Farm and Ranch, Sweet Rebecca, out of the Grade 2-placed Discreet Cat mare Sweet N Discreet, is a full-sister to multiple turf graded stakes-winner Sweet Melania.

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Segesta [post 1, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] earned a career-best 82 Beyer Speed Figure for her third-out graduation last out on April 21 traveling one-mile over firm Keeneland turf.

The regally-bred Ghostzapper filly is out of the First Defence mare Antonoe, who won the 2017 Grade 1 Just a Game for Brown.

Flanagan Racing’s Grayosh [post 2, Manny Franco] made her first two starts at Gulfstream Park, including a troubled effort in March where she clipped heels and unseated Gaffalione.

The Yoshida grey returned with aplomb last out on April 20 here, tracking from third position under returning rider Manny Franco in a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden and edging clear to a 1 3/4-length score over next-out winner Chantilly Road that garnered a 67 Beyer.

Sterling Stables’ Vive Veuve [post 3, Javier Castellano] enters from a rallying three-quarter length score in the 7 1/2-furlong Sanibel Island on March 30 over firm Gulfstream Park turf.

The Kentucky-bred Collected chestnut, out of the Group 3-winning Lope de Vega mare Candy Store, made her first three starts in Ireland for trainer Emmet Mullins before shipping stateside where she has made a trio of starts for conditioner Jack Sisterson at Gulfstream.

“She’s a talented filly. Emmet sent her over in great shape. He was somewhat disappointed of her form in Ireland as he said she’d worked better than she ran,” Sisterson said. “He thought with the change of scenery she might do well in America, which she did.”

Vive Veuve finished third in November traveling one mile and 70 yards over Tapeta before rallying to graduate by a head in a one-mile turf event on February 11 when a head better than next-out winner Royal Wintour.

Sisterson said he’s pleased to have Hall of Famer Javier Castellano back aboard as the filly stretches out in distance.

“She’s improved in her form from each run, and she seems to still be improving in her training as well,” Sisterson said. “Distance is a bit of an unknown as she just won going 7 1/2-furlongs at Gulfstream on a tighter, firm track. We’ll stretch her out to nine furlongs so there’s a question mark there, but we get Javier back and he knows the filly well. She couldn’t be doing any better.”

Sisterson said the connections are hopeful a good result on Monday will put the filly into the mix for a Grade 1 attempt in the Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks.

“They’ve allowed her to progress along nicely on her own instead of forcing things,” Sisterson said. “She’s already a listed winner and we’ve spoken about a longer-term plan of getting graded black type and an invitation to the Belmont Oaks. So, we thought the Wonder Again would be the right spot for her.”

Vive Veuve, a $30,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, has banked $121,262 through a 6-2-0-1 record.

Blue Heaven Farm’s Kentucky homebred Sy B [post 4, John Velazquez] will make her stakes debut out of an impressive maiden win for red-hot trainer Cherie DeVaux.

DeVaux has won four stakes this month, including three on Black-Eyed Susan Day at Pimlico Race Course with Pyrenees in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special, Shotgun Hottie in the Allaire DuPont and She Feels Pretty in the Hilltop.

Sy B, an English Channel bay out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Belong To Me mare Ocean Drive, is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Hollywood Don and multiple stakes-winner West Ocean. She made her first two starts over the Turfway Park synthetic but responded impressively in her turf debut, rallying to a one-length win in a 1 3/16-mile turf maiden on April 5 at Keeneland.

“She’s doing well. She’s trained forwardly out of that race,” DeVaux said. “She’s a really nicely put together filly. She’s a homebred and the mare has been really good to them, and they wanted to breed to race. She’s going to be more effective the longer the races are, so we didn’t want to run her at a mile.”

Rounding out a talented field is Team Spoor’s Curlin’s Girl [post 5, Jose Lezcano], who arrives from a rallying third-place finish in the Memories of Silver.

The Curlin bay, a $360,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, made her first six starts for trainer Anthony Dutrow and graduated at fifth asking in March over synthetic at Gulfstream. Now trained by Linda Rice, Curlin’s Girl is out of the graded stakes-winning Rock Hard Ten mare Quality Rocks.

Six Pack Senorita and Golden Degree are entered for the main track only at Belmont at the Big A.