Godolphin's Imperial Gesture forwarded her Breeders Cup Distaff claims with an impressive victory in the Grade One Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park. The three-year-old filly followed up her win in the Grade One Gazelle Handicap last time with victory in the $750,000 affair.
Imperial Gesture was facing her older rivals in a stakes race for the first time but she was always up with the pace before Jerry Bailey kicked on entering the straight. Both Mandy's Gold and Summer Colony tried to get back on terms but there was no catching the daughter of Langfuhr.
'She seems like she's just getting better and better,' Tom Albertrani, the New York-based assistant to trainer Saeed bin Suroor, told Godolphin's official website. Imperial Gesture has won five times in six starts this year and her only loss came in the Kentucky Oaks, in which she finished eighth.
Albertrani added: 'It took some time to put condition back on her. Right now, she's just peaking.'
Meanwhile, Banks Hill had a troubled passage when third to Golden Apples in the Grade One Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. The Andre Fabre-trained filly found herself trapped on the rail turning into the stretch of the 10 furlong event, and, when a gap did eventually appear, it was too late.
Consequently Corey Nakatani's mount was beaten four lengths by the winner. Nakatani said, 'I was in pretty tight (turning for home with Banks Hill) but when they quickened away from us they were way outside. The problem was that they were going so slow. I should probably have been on the lead, but hindsight is 20-20.'
Irish import Golden Apples, adding to her Beverly D Stakes success, now goes for the Breeders' Cup Filly And Mare Turf reports trainer Ben Cecil.
Filed by Brendan Cole
