By Ben Massam
7th-BEL, $75K, Msw, 2yo, 6fT, 4:41 p.m. EDT
With a treasure trove of well-bred juveniles set to compete at the Saratoga meet only six days away, racegoers will be treated to a fitting precursor in this contentious downstate maiden heat. Colts Neck Stables homebred BALAYAGE (War Front), a half-sister to GISW and sire Warrior's Reward (Medaglia d'Oro), ships up from New Jersey to make her career debut here. Conditioned by Alan Goldberg, the bay hails from the same female family that produced reigning Canadian Horse of the Year and recent GI Belmont Oaks Invitational heroine Catch a Glimpse (City Zip)–as well as her half-brother and four-time leading Canadian sire Old Forester (Forestry), and MGISW High Yield (Storm Cat). One stall to her inside, Glen Hill Farm sends out a homebred firster of their own in Consulting (Maclean's Music). The Tom Proctor trainee's half-sister, Family Meeting (Sky Mesa), took down last year's GIII Jimmy Durante S. over the Del Mar lawn, and her dam Family Plan (Repriced) is herself a full-sister to MGSW Closeout and GSW Capital Request. Trainer Christophe Clement must always be considered a factor on the grass, and he has a pair of debut runners here in Catherine M. Wills' Fly Swift (City Zip)–a homebred half-sister to 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Furthest Land (Smart Strike)–and Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Lull (War Front). The latter's dam is a half to 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam (Saint Ballado) and GSW Quiet Giant (Giant's Causeway), perhaps best known as the dam of MGSW and 2016 GI Kentucky Derby third Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}).
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