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Fort Marcy, Beaugay attract veteran performers The durable trio of GRAND COUTURIER (GB) (Grand Lodge), INTERPATATION (Langfuhr) and OPERATION RED DAWN (Miswaki), who have been around a combined 23 years, will commence their respective 2010 campaigns in Saturday's $100,000 Fort Marcy S. (G3), a 1 1/16-mile grass fixture over Belmont Park's Widener course. Classiest among these aged battlers is Grand Couturier, a three-time Grade 1 winner whose specialty is longer-distance affairs, who is likely using this one as a tightener for the June 5 Manhattan H. (G1). Grand Couturier, now seven, found his best form last year in the fall, taking the Bowling Green H. (G2) prior to placing in both the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (G1) and Red Smith H. (G2). The winner of that Turf Classic, in an improbable upset at 43-1, was Interpatation, who showed a rare touch of speed and negotiated the boggy ground in faster time than eventual divisional champion Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat). Interpatation later ran up the track in the Japan Cup (Jpn-G1), a more typical performance seen from the now eight-year-old in recent seasons. Operation Red Dawn, also eight, was a solid third in the 2009 edition of the Fort Marcy and later added the Knickerbocker H. (G3) to his line. However, he faltered to sixth in the Red Smith, his seasonal finale, after setting the pace in the 1 3/8-mile contest. The early pace of the Fort Marcy will likely be set by BROTHER NICK (Malibu Moon), who cuts back after a strong third-place effort in the Pan American S. (G3) at 1 1/2 miles. Graded stakes winners FLORENTINO (Jpn) (Swept Overboard) and SAL THE BARBER (Alphabet Soup) also have a touch of speed, while BALETTI (Gulch) is looking to rebound off a subpar showing in the Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial H. (G2). DYNAMOOR (Dynaformer), the once beaten half-brother to Grade 1 winner Honor in War (Lord at War [Arg]), makes his stakes debut off a first-level allowance score at Gulfstream. The co-featured $100,000 Beaugay S. (G3) for fillies and mares will be run over the same distance on the inner turf. MY PRINCESS JESS (Stormy Atlantic), who counted the 2009 Beaugay as her only win of last season, makes her first start since the First Lady S. (G1) at Keeneland in October, where she fell back 20 lengths at one point before rallying to miss by less than four lengths. The Beaugay also marks the seasonal debut of MISS WORLD (Bernstein), the upset winner of the Garden City S. (G1) in September who did not fare quite as well in either the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) or Mrs. Revere S. (G2) in her final two starts of the season. Multiple stakes winner SCOLARA (Quiet American), who was active in Florida over the winter, is another who figures with her best form.
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