Belmont Oaks draws two European challengers in international field

Two European challengers, Abashiri and Kensington Lane, have changed the shape of Saratoga’s 48th Belmont Oaks before the field even reaches the inner turf. The $600,000 Grade 1 goes as race 7 on July 4 at 4:06 p.m. ET, is run at 1 1/8 miles, and is restricted to 3-year-old fillies foaled after August 1, 2022 and before July 31, 2023.

Abashiri, a Godolphin homebred by Frankel for Charlie Appleby, brings a top-level European profile to a race that has welcomed that kind of shipment before. European-trained fillies have won four of the last eight Belmont Oaks renewals, a record that has made the race one of Saratoga’s clearest transatlantic tests. Kensington Lane, trained by Donnacha O’Brien, arrives with form that places her right on top of the division’s best, having finished fifth in the Irish 1000 Guineas, only three-quarters of a length behind Abashiri. Appleby also has already shown he can win big on the Spa turf, including a 2022 Saratoga stakes sweep in the Turf Triple sequence.

The American side still has names that can make this more than a simple import exercise. Imaginationthelady, Faithful Departed and Storm’s Wake give the race domestic speed, position and local familiarity, and that is where the tactical interest sharpens. Saratoga’s inner turf often exposes fillies that need a perfect trip, and a single pace move can separate a respectable run from a Grade 1 breakthrough. If the home group can keep the visitors from dictating terms, the race becomes a question of whether the Spa’s surface and tighter timing cues can blunt the deeper staying pressure that often travels with European turf form.

The Belmont Oaks also carries a Breeders’ Cup Challenge berth into the Filly and Mare Turf, so the result will resonate beyond one afternoon at Saratoga. The race sits inside the July 4th Racing Festival while Belmont Park undergoes major renovation, another reminder that Saratoga’s summer now bears much of New York racing’s biggest stage. With Saratoga’s 2026 meet loaded with more than 70 stakes worth over $23 million, the Belmont Oaks remains one of the weekend’s defining international races, and another European win would deepen that identity further.