High-caliber steeplechase action highlights Belmont Opening Day with G1 Lonesome Glory
At 2h02, on September 16, 2021 • By BELMONT PARK
Steeplechase action will take center stage on Opening Day of the Belmont Park fall meet Thursday when Buttonwood Farm’s The Mean Queen will look to best males for a second consecutive Grade 1 contest in the $150,000 Lonesome Glory for 4-year-olds and up competing at 2 1/2 miles.
The 12th running of the Lonesome Glory, slated as Race 2 on the nine-race card, will see a seven-horse field compete over National fences, including the Keri Brion-trained The Mean Queen, who captured a prestigious steeplechase stakes during the Saratoga summer meet with a 4 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1, $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard on August 18.
The Mean Queen has already provided Brion with a slew of memorable moments this year, including a victory in April at Ireland’s Wexford Racecourse that made her conditioner the first U.S.-based trainer to win an Irish hurdle race. In just her third start overall and first over jumps, the 5-year-old daughter of Doyen was victorious and parlayed that momentum by racking up wins in her first two starts in North America.
