Belmont At The Big A Picks | Cupecoy's Joy Stakes 2024

Hilly Fields Stable’s New York-homebred Being Betty will try and follow her family ways by taking a New York Stallion Stakes Series turf division in Friday’s $150,000 Cupecoy’s Joy, a six-furlong outer turf sprint for eligible New York-sired sophomore fillies, at the Belmont at the Big A meet.

The NYSSS Cupecoy’s Joy is slated as Race 6 on Friday’s nine-race program. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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Trained by Phil Serpe, Being Betty is out of the stakes-winning Courageous Cat mare Lady Joan, who is a half-sister to stakes-winners Goodbye Brockley and Itsallcomintogetha. The Hilly Fields Stable-campaigned and Serpe-trained Lady Joan [2017 Cupecoy’s Joy], Goodbye Brockley [2018 Statue of Liberty] and Itsallcomintogetha [2023 Cab Calloway] each won NYSSS turf stakes.

“Her whole family – they’re very tough horses,” Serpe said. “They run at two, but they actually become better horses as they get older. They all just seem to improve. She’s just turned three and we’re looking for that to happen with her also. They’re all runners and they’re very competitive. They’ve got a lot of fight in them.”

She is sired by the Serpe-trained Weekend Hideaway, who won the 2013 Gone Fishin over the Belmont Park green as part of a distinguished career record of 49-13-7-10 for purse earnings in excess of $1.1 million that included eight stakes wins and a Grade 1 placing when third in the 2016 Vosburgh.

Being Betty graduated at second asking in September at Belmont at the Big A, scoring by three-quarter lengths in a six-furlong state-bred turf sprint. She returned to action in November when a non-threatening fifth in the one-mile Tepin against open company over firm footing at Aqueduct to complete her sophomore season.

Being Betty arrives at the Cupecoy’s Joy from an off-the-board effort in a state-bred allowance against elders on April 27 traveling 1 1/16-miles over firm Big A turf.

The Cupecoy’s Joy is usually contested at seven furlongs at Belmont Park, but will be run one furlong shorter this weekend at the Big A.

“She did win going six, so hopefully she’ll be able to do some good there,” Serpe said. “Hopefully, she’ll rebound off of that first race of the year and run good for us.”

Serpe said he’s willing to draw a line through Being Betty’s first outing this year.

“Sometimes races just don’t go well for horses and that’s just the way things went that day. The whole race didn’t go well for her, so it’s hard to comment on it – that’s thoroughbred racing,” said Serpe.

Jose Lezcano, aboard for the first three starts, has the call from post 4.

J. W. Singer’s Geopolitics [post 2, Joel Rosario] is a two-start maiden, but enters with a field-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure as she makes her turf and stakes debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

The Central Banker bay, out of the Menifee mare Liza Lu, is a half-sister to dirt stakes-winner Jemography and stakes-placed Good Intent. The $140,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Preferred New York-bred Yearling Sale purchase completed the exacta in both career starts which occurred in dirt sprints at the Big A, missing by a head on debut in February and by a half-length last out to La Banquera, who exited that effort to run sixth in Sunday’s state-bred Bouwerie at Saratoga Race Course.

Geopolitics was bred by Spruce Lane, Mashnee, McMahon of Saratoga, Robbins, Copper Beech, et al.

Travis and Eddie Racing Stable’s stakes-winner Soloshot [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.] owns the field’s best turf Beyer, garnering an 81 for a runner-up effort at odds of 49-1 in a six-furlong turf sprint against open, older company on April 27 at the Big A.

The Solomini chestnut, bred by Rhapsody Farm, made her first five starts for trainer George Weaver, winning the state-bred Lady Finger in September on dirt at Finger Lakes at second asking ahead of a trio of off-the-board efforts.

She was haltered by trainer Lolita Shivmangal for $32,000 out of a runner-up effort in March over the Big A dirt and arrives from a fourth-place finish in a state-bred optional-claiming turf sprint on May 24 at Belmont at the Big A.

Rounding out a robust field for Friday’s Belmont at the Big A featured race are:

My Shea D Lady [post 3, Javier Castellano], who won the $500,000 NYSSS Fifth Avenue on dirt in December here and makes her turf debut for trainer Carlos David
Stakes-placed Sohana [post 1, Flavien Prat], also set for a turf debut for trainer Brad Cox
Maiden winner Find Your Joy [post 6, Trevor McCarthy] for trainer Tom Morley
Maiden War Terminatrix [post 7, Maddy Olver] for trainer Gary Contessa
Maiden Naughty Destiny [post 8, Dylan Davis] for conditioner Christophe Clement