Highgrove impresses in Belmont debut, points to bigger spring goals

Highgrove took a meaningful first step at Belmont at the Big A, sweeping a nine-horse field in Race 2 on May 14 and winning the $85,000 maiden special weight for fillies and mares 3 and up by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:15.94 over a fast dirt track. Sent off as the 2-1 second choice, the Frosted filly rewarded the market’s confidence and paid $6.46 to win.

Manuel Franco put her into the race immediately, and Highgrove responded like a filly who already understood the assignment. She fired from the gate, made every pole a winning one through the top of the lane, and still had enough left to turn back the field comfortably. That matters because Belmont winners can look different depending on how they get there, and this one was no by-product of a collapse or a fluke. She controlled the rhythm, handled pressure, and finished with professionalism in a way that suggests there is more in the tank for Brad H. Cox.

For Madaket Stables, LLC and Mill Ridge Farm, the debut also carried a business edge. Highgrove was foaled April 20, 2023 in Kentucky, is out of Bell Court by Street Sense, and already carries the kind of female-family profile that can lift her well beyond a routine maiden winner. Bell Court is the second foal out of Burmilla, and her extended family includes stakes winner Twice Is Sweet and Grade I-winning juvenile filly Magicalmysterycat. Bell Court also has a yearling half-brother by Loggins and a half-sister by Aloha West, adding depth to a pedigree that can matter at the racetrack and later in the sales ring.

That combination of speed, composure and bloodline is why Highgrove now looks like more than a one-off debut winner. The next spot will tell the real story: a second start against winners, ideally at a route or a stronger sprint level where she has to show whether she can carry that first-run speed under tougher conditions. If she moves forward again, she could be the kind of summer filly who belongs in stakes conversation, not just maiden company.

Her timing fits the moment at Belmont at the Big A, where NYRA’s 2026 spring-summer meet opened April 30 and runs through June 28 while Belmont Park remains under redevelopment. With the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival headed to Saratoga Race Course for the third and final time this year, Highgrove’s debut gives Cox and her connections a filly with a path worth watching as the spring turns toward summer.