Noble Damsel

Jon and Sarah Kelly et al's BRIGHT ABUNDANCE (Quiet American) settled into a

pocket on the rail just behind the leaders in Saturday's $150,000

Noble Damsel

H. (G3) at Belmont before swinging to the outside in the stretch and valiantly

holding off post-time favorite My Lordship (Lord Avie) by a half-length. The

four-year-old filly earned her first graded win after covering one mile in 1:33 4/5 over the firm turf under jockey

Richard Migliore.

Saving ground on the rail in fifth behind a contested lead, Bright Abundance

let Fortunate Damsel (Runaway Groom) and Path of Thunder (Thunder Gulch) slug it

out on the front end through fractions of :23 4/5, :46 3/5 and 1:10 1/5. Leaving

the turn for home, Migliore had plenty of horse but no room on the rail as

Fortunate Damsel began to back up, so the jockey swung his mount out wide and

showed her clear sailing, but they still had work to do. A head in front with a

furlong to go, Bright Abundance had to hold off the fast-closing My Lordship as

well as Asti (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), who was 10th after six furlongs but came

home with a rush. My Lordship closed late for second, one length clear of Asti, who grabbed

the show spot by a head over Path of Thunder.

Sent off at nearly 7-1, the winner returned $15.60, $6.40 and $4.20 for her efforts

while starting the $51 exacta and $358.50 trifecta. My Lordship was off at 7-5

and paid $3.40 and

$2.80 to place, and Asti gave back $6.40 at 13-1. Path of Thunder completed the

$3,284 superfecta (2-4-3-6) and was followed by Stupendous Miss (Dynaformer),

Humoristic (Sefapiano), River Belle (GB) (Lahib), Sabellina (Langfuhr), Cloakof

Vagueness (El Prado [Ire]), Fortunate Damsel, Lentil (Alphabet Soup) and

Givememore (Brz) (Special Nash (Ire). Stormina (Gulch) was on the also-eligible

list and did not draw in.

Bred in Kentucky by Gainsborough Farm, Bright Abundance is the first foal out of the Last

Tycoon (Ire) mare Quality Gift (GB) and has an unraced two-year-old half-brother

named Diamond Shower (Swain [Ire]), a yearling half-sister named Gift of Song (Unbridled's

Song) and a 2005 half-sister by Aljabr. She adds this win to a resume that

includes a victory in the Plenty of Grace S. and runner-up finishes in the Fort

Monmouth S. and Goldfinch S. The Christophe Clement-trained bay's line now reads

18-5-2-1 with earnings of $231,653.