With an imperious display, Tennessee Belle looked a filly with a big future on Saturday when the seven-and-a-quarter length winner of a maiden special weight at Saratoga.
The daughter of Yaupon was bred by Breeze Easy LLC out of Grade 1 winner Belle Gallantey, who was purchased by Chad Schumer as agent with KGS for $120,000 at last year’s Keeneland November Sale. The After Market mare was bought in foal to leading young sire McKinzie.
Trained by John Alexander Ortiz for Boyd Racing, Tennessee Belle went off as the even-money favorite in the field of seven and cruised to victory under Joel Rosario to be crowned a TDN Rising Star.
“We were actually planning on running her next week, but we saw this race was coming up, and she came out of that race in fantastic shape, didn’t miss a beat, didn’t miss a meal. I said, ‘You know what? We’ll just use this as a stepping stone for our next race, which hopefully is a stakes,” John Ortiz told the TDN.
“She’s not the tallest, but she’s very well-balanced, a really good physique to her. She’s got amazing angles and lines. Anything you could look for in a good horse, they’re all there. But, more importantly, she’s got a great demeanor. She’s very quiet, docile in the stall, but once she steps on the track, she puts her business face on and it’s game time.
“She trains incredibly well in hand. Just very smart all the way around. I’ve had a lot of fillies that just act the same way, like her, Brightwork (Outwork) and Quietside (Malibu Moon) and many other fillies. I just think it’s a great trait for a filly to have: be smart in the mornings and be all game when it’s time to play.”
The filly is the second two-year-old out of a recent Schumer Bloodstock purchase to be crowned a TDN Rising Star at the current Saratoga meet following Ornellaia.
