Lift Up, a five-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper-Dynamic Cat, trained by Michael Dickinson, arrives at the 1 1/16-mile main track Belle Mahone (for fillies & mares, three-year-olds and upward) off a 1 ½-length triumph in the West Virginia Senate President’s Cup Stakes on August 3.
Under Joe Bravo, Lift Up rallied to take the $75,000 event, contested at Mountaineer Racetrack, covering the one mile and 70 yards on a firm turf in 1:37.21, not far off the track record of 1:37.09 set by Caribou Club on the same day.
Lift Up is certainly no stranger to Woodbine.
The bay mare first tested out the Toronto oval in 2017, finishing third in the La Lorgnette Stakes. The following year, the Kentucky-bred was second in the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes, missing out on top spot by a neck to A.A. Azula’s Arch, who will also contest the Belle Mahone.
This June, Lift Up was seventh in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes. It’s the only time she’s finished outside of the top five in her career.
In 2018, Lift Up notched her first added-money title, the Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth, charging down the lane to take the 1 1/16-mile turf event by 1 ¼-lengths.
“We keep giving her more and more to see how good she is,” said Dickinson after the win. “She’s a late developer and she’s going to be even better. We haven’t seen the best of her yet. She’s a stayer but she can turn it on. That’s a lethal combination.”
Heading into the Belle Mahone, Lift Up fashions a record of 6-5-1 from 16 lifetime starts. After starting her career with a pair of seconds and a fourth, she won three straight, from April 15, 2017 to September 13, 2017.
Gamble’s Ghost, bred and owned by Ivan Dalos, has won the past two runnings of the Belle Mahone.
The Belle Mahone is scheduled as race nine of 11 on Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. program.
Fans can also watch and wager on all the live action via HPIbet.com.
$100,000 BELLE MAHONE STAKES
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Lift Up – Patrick Husbands – Michael Dickinson
2 – She’s the Berries – Eurico Rosa Da Silva – Mark Casse
3 – Monte Crista – Luis Contreras – Michael Trombetta
4 – Ladies Night – Kazushi Kimura – Gail Cox
5 – A. A. Azula’s Arch – Omar Moreno – Kevin Attard
6 – Lunar Garden – Rafael Hernandez – Stuart Simon
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