Competitive field of nine entered for QE II

Alterite, a 1 1/2-length winner of

the Garden City in her North American debut last month, headlines a deep

field of nine sophomore fillies entered for Saturday's 30th running

of the Grade 1, $400,000

Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup to be contested at 1 1/8

miles on Keeneland's turf.

Alterite, who is one of seven graded or group winners in

the field, will try to give trainer Chad Brown his second consecutive victory in

the race. Brown, who won with Dayatthespa in 2012, would join Woody Stephens,

John Veitch and Joe Orseno as the only trainers to win the QE II in consecutive

years.

John Velazquez, who was aboard Alterite for the Garden City victory, has the

call Saturday.

Returning to challenge Alterite on Saturday are two fillies

she left in her wake in the Garden City: third-place finisher Concise and

seventh-place runner Caroline Thomas.

Caroline Thomas just missed by a nose in the Lake Placid but was elevated to

first place via the disqualification of the winner. Next out came the Garden City,

where the Barclay Tagg-trained chestnut was forced to race five wide rounding

the turn into the lane and finished seventh, fourth lengths behind the winner.

The Giant's Causeway filly, who is out of 2007 QE II winner Bit of Whimsy, had Rosie Napravnik

in the irons for the Lake Placid and retains that rider for Saturday.

No daughter of a QE II winner has come back to win the

race. In addition to Caroline Thomas, one other filly will have the chance to do

so this year. That filly is Say, a daughter of 2002 winner Riskaverse.

Say is actually wheeling back off a week break, having finished sixth in last Saturday's First Lady against older fillies and mares

at Keeneland in her U.S. bow. Trained by Aidan O'Brien, the Galileo filly is following in the path of Together, the 2011 QE II winner who was

second in the First Lady the week before.

A Group 3 winner in Ireland, Say will be ridden by James Graham.