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Edict awaits stateside debut in Listed $150K Athenia

by Christian Abdo

John T. Behrendt’s dual Argentinian Group 1-winner Edict is set for her stateside debut in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Belmont at the Big A.

The 4-year-old Il Campione bay will make her first start in trainer David Donk’s care and outside of her native Argentina, where her last two efforts were 10-furlong Group 1 victories at San Isidro for conditioner Eduardo Accosano, including the Enrique Acebal in November and Copa de Plata Roberto Vazquez Mansilla Internacional one month later.

Donk said Edict demonstrated routing ability in her 1 1/4-mile wins in the Southern Hemisphere, and now it is time to see what she can do in the Empire State.

“She obviously has shown she can run long in the mile and a quarter. So, I don’t think distance is an issue. It is more that she hasn't run since December,” Donk said. “The ground is on the firm side, so it seems to carry them a distance. It’ll be a good spot to get her started.”

Edict, who was named Argentina’s Champion 3-Year-Old Filly last year, was entered in the local one-mile Grade 3 Noble Damsel on September 21 but was scratched.

“Before the Noble Damsel, she came up with a foot bruise, so I had to scratch her. Fortunately, it cleared up fairly quickly and she’s had a couple of works. I’m running out of time as far as the grass season goes,” said Donk. “It’ll be a spot where we can find out a little more about her.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez will ride from post 3, and Donk said he will let the veteran jockey call the shots.

“He’s breezed her a couple of times, so he knows her a little bit,” said Donk. “She looked like a filly in Argentina that was naturally forwardly-placed, so we won’t take that away from her, but we’re going to leave it in his hands on whatever he thinks is best.”

Four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown will look for a fifth consecutive Athenia victory as he sends out Grade 1-placed Prerequisite [post 6, Flavien Prat] and allowance-winner Child of the Moon [post 4, Manny Franco].

The Athenia has been won by Brown with Pianist [2013], Roca Rojo [2016], Off Limits [2017], Rymska [2018], Tapit Today [2020], Pocket Square [2021], Love And Thunder [2022] and Technical Analysis [2023].

Prerequisite, a 4-year-old Upstart filly campaigned by First Row Partners and Team Hanley, enters from a nine-furlong optional-claiming win on September 2 at Saratoga, which came off an over one-year layoff dating to a fifth in the Grade 2 Lake Placid in August 2023 at the Spa.

Before the respite, Prerequisite finished a three-quarter length second in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in July 2023 at Belmont Park after winning the Grade 2 Wonder Again there one month prior.

Child of the Moon, a 4-year-old The Grey Gatsby bay owned by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb and Louis Lazzinnaro, will make her third start for Brown after an initial campaign in her native France for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget.

Child of the Moon won a 1 1/16-mile allowance last-out on September 2 at the Spa, avenging a neck defeat at the same level in July there.

The multiple graded stakes-placed Spirit And Glory [post 2, Jose Lezcano] looks to get back in the win column after an uncharacteristic eighth in the one-mile Grade 3 Ladies Turf on August 31 at Kentucky Downs.

Trained by Rob Falcone, Jr., the 5-year-old Cotai Glory bay returns to the site of her last win, a pacesetting five-length score in the one-mile Listed Plenty of Grace in April. She exited to run back-to-back thirds in 1 1/16-mile Grade 3s, defeated a neck in the local Beaugay in May and 1 1/2 lengths in the Eatontown in June at Monmouth Park.

Spirit And Glory will stretch out to nine furlongs for the first time since October 2022 when she finished fifth in the Grade 2 Sands Point here following a win at the distance in the Listed Virginia Oaks at Colonial Downs.

Spirit And Glory, owned by Michael Nentwig, Michael Dubb, Beast Mode Racing, John Rochfort and Falcone, Jr., boasts a 21-6-2-3 record with $521,220 in earnings, tallying an additional graded placing in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap last August at Del Mar. She also won the Listed Albert M. Stall Memorial in February at Fair Grounds and the Listed Miss Liberty last May at Monmouth.

D. J. Stable, Medallion Racing and Parkland Thoroughbreds’ Grade 1-placed Papilio [post 7, Dylan Davis] looks for her second win of the year for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.

The 4-year-old Starspangledbanner bay has made five outings in 2024, taking a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer in June at Churchill Downs. Papilio’s campaign last year was highlighted by a win in the Grade 2 Appalachian in April at Keeneland and a third in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in July at its namesake oval.

Shane Tripp, a New York-based assistant trainer for Casse, said that Papilio has matured nicely over the years.

“She’s doing really well,” said Tripp. “I’ve had her a couple times over the past few years for a significant amount of time. I love her weight. She has filled out this year, is doing great, and is training as good as she can be, so I’m looking forward to running her.”

Rounding out the field are Grade 3-placed Three Priests [post 5, Jorge Ruiz], who is cross-entered in Sunday's Grade 3 Dowager at Keeneland for trainer Graham Motion; dual stakes-winner Tufani [post 1, Ben Curtis] for conditioner Michael Stidham; and stakes-winner Thirty Thou Kelvin [post 8, Kendrick Carmouche] for trainer Kathleen O’Connell.

Evidencias, Movie Moxy and Amanda's Folly are entered for the main track-only.

The Athenia is slated as Race 10 on Saturday’s 12-race card that also features the Listed $150,000 Awad [Race 3]. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

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