The road to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf runs through Belmont Park on September 26, when a deep field of fillies and mares meets in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl.
The $500,000 race covers 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf and offers the winner an automatic place in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland. That makes the Flower Bowl one of the most consequential races on a Belmont card that also includes the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Vosburgh and Gallant Bloom.
Sunlit Uplands gets another major chance
Sunlit Uplands arrives after a narrow second in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga. She saved ground before making her challenge and missed by only a neck. Trainer Stuart Williams has kept her in New York, where she has continued preparing for this longer assignment.
Her recent form gives the race an important international angle. Before coming to the United States, Sunlit Uplands won the Group 3 Stuten Meile at Hamburg by three lengths.
Fionn adds proven American turf form
Fionn brings an accomplished domestic record into the Flower Bowl. The Brad Cox trainee has earned more than $2 million and owns seven victories from 12 starts. Her biggest success came in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, and her record also includes graded victories at Churchill Downs, Kentucky Downs and Belmont at the Big A.
Fionn returned from a lengthy break in August at Saratoga. The Flower Bowl gives her an opportunity to move forward while stretching back out over a distance that should better showcase her established turf ability.
Gezora gives the field Breeders’ Cup quality
Gezora supplies one of the strongest credentials in the field. The Bill Mott trainee won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf last season and now seeks her first victory since that championship performance.
Mott also sends Opulent Restraint, a multiple Grade 1 placed runner. Other notable entrants include Evershed, who won the Grade 3 Waya in her latest start, Silvology and Favorite Memory.
A major piece of Belmont’s September 26 card
The Flower Bowl is scheduled as the final race on an 11 race program. It follows a major sequence that includes the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, Gallant Bloom and Vosburgh.
The automatic Breeders’ Cup opportunity raises the stakes beyond the purse. With proven Grade 1 performers, improving international runners and established American turf form in the same field, the Flower Bowl can materially reshape the division heading toward Keeneland.
OTB Bet will continue tracking the major Belmont races and the wider Breeders’ Cup trail as the championship fields take shape.
Sources: New York Racing Association official Flower Bowl advance and Belmont Park stakes schedule.
