3-year-old fillies go in the Wild Applause at Belmont Park on Saturday

By NY Hot List staff | Thursday, June 22, 2023

The $150,000 Wild Applause at Belmont Park drew a field of eight 3-year-old fillies that will race one mile on the outer Widener Turf Course. Chad Brown has a pair of runners including Liguria who listed at as the 7-2 third choice in the morning line and is the only graded takes winner in the field.

Liguria, who sold for $275,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September Sale, won a Grade 3 at Del Mar in December in her third and final start as a juvenile. She began her 2023 campaign at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend in the Edgewood (G2). Since then she has not missed a workout with a bullet work on the turf at Belmont on June 18.

“She worked super,” said Brown, who won the Wild Applause last year. “She didn’t take to the turf at Churchill.”

Her stablemate Tax Implications is the 5-2 morning line second choice and actually raced against Liguria in their career debuts at Monmouth Park in September.

The Wild Applause is scheduled as race 6 out of 10 with post-time set for 3:41 p.m. EDT.

The $150,000 Wild Applause at Belmont Park, Saturday, Race 6.

(3) Liguria won the Jimmy Durante (G3) at Del Mar in December for Chad Brown after a maiden breaker at Aqueduct. She made her 2023 debut at Churchill Downs in the Edgewood (G2) and finished fifth on a turf course that was not to her liking but was beaten by less than two lengths. (8) Breath Away became a stakes winner at Gulfstream Park in the Sanibel Island in her third start of the year for Christophe Clemente. She backed up a race high speed figure from that victory in her next start when she finished second in the Hilltop at Pimlico during Preakness weekend. (6) Soviet Excess won her last two starts at Gulfstream for Todd Pletcher. (2) Tax Implications beat the top choice, who is her stablemate, in their career debuts by almost seven lengths as the favorite. She then ran second in the Chelsea Flowers in October at Aqueduct and has been off since then.

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