| Wednesday, April 30, 2014 Contact: Sean Morris smorris@nyrainc.com Clement sends out pair in highly contentious Beaugay ELMONT, N.Y. - Irish Mission and Orion Moon, both from the barn of trainer Christophe Clement, are ready to run on Saturday at Belmont Park in the Grade 3, $150,000 Beaugay for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Beaugay joins the Grade 3, $150,000 Fort Marcy on the Kentucky Derby Day card at Belmont Park, where gates will open at 10 a.m. with a special live first race post time of noon. Owned by Robert S. Evans, Irish Mission will be making her first start for Clement and her 2014 debut on Saturday. As a 4-year-old, she finished second in the Grade 2 Nassau, third in the Grade 3 Orchid, and contested the Grade 1 Northern Dancer and Grade 2 Sky Classic, both against males. To close out 2013, she finished seventh in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor over a boggy Woodbine turf course - conditions she may encounter again over the weekend. "She's been with us all winter and she's training very well," said Clement. "She's running, maybe a little bit short for her - the mile and a sixteenth - but if the ground is a bit tiring [the distance] could become more of a stamina test." Newly minted Hall of Famer Alex Solis will be aboard Irish Mission, 8-1 on the morning line, and the pair will depart from post position 9. Unlike her stablemate, Orion Moon has the benefit of having a race under her belt this year, a fast-closing second behind Coffee Clique at a mile over a rock-hard Gulfstream Park turf. Despite an abridged 2013 campaign, the daughter of German sire Manduro racked up two wins from three starts, and finished fifth in the Speed Boat over "good" ground at Saratoga Race Course. "She had a disappointing race last year on softer ground, but I don't think it was related to the ground," said Clement. "She's training well and she had a very good race at Gulfstream the other day." Orion Moon, 7-2 on the morning line, will be ridden by Junior Alvarado and drew post position 4. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will send out Byrama in the Beaugay, who will be making her third start for the conditioner. The bay daughter of Byron kicked off her year in the Ten Palms at Gulfstream, where she missed by a nose to next-out winner Ready Signal. Brought back in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland, the 5-year-old mare failed to fire and finished seventh of eight over the Polytrack. Byrama will break from post position 2 with Chris DeCarlo in the irons and sits at 4-1 on the morning line. English Class is another that will be migrating from south Florida to contest the Beaugay. Trained by Brian Lynch for Fred M. Allor, the chestnut mare will be arriving fresh off an optional claiming score on March 22 at Gulfstream. As a 3-year-old in 2012, the daughter of English Channel suffered a narrow defeat in the Grade 3 Valley View at Keeneland, and finished sixth in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere. She made only three starts in 2013, including one against Irish Mission in the Grade 2 Nassau, and failed to crack the exacta as a 4-year-old. Manny Franco has the mount aboard English Class, 15-1 on the morning line, and the duo will break from post position 6. Trainer Chad Brown will also send out two on Saturday when he saddles Watsdachances (5-1) and Waterway Run (3-1). The former, unraced in 2014, placed in three graded stakes in 2013 and capped her year off with a win in the Summer Secretary at Aqueduct Racetrack, while the latter has two runner-up finishes to her credit this year, including one in the Grade 3 Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs. Rounding out the field are Assateague, winner of the De La Rose last year at Saratoga, and Scampering, who is coming off a third-place finish in an allowance race at Keeneland for trainer Shug McGaughey. Sunny Desert and Natalie Victoria were entered Main Track Only. The field for the $150,000 Beaugay: -30- | 
