by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — It took her ten starts to finally reach the winner’s circle and after finishing second in start No. 11 by a half-length to I Luv the Nitelife in a $108,700 division of the Bluegrass last year, Carl Jamieson was looking forward to Belle Boyd’s performance in the Breeders Crown.

“She’s a big filly and tall,” he said. “She is about 16-1/2 hands and she was just constantly growing last year. She draws bad all the time, too, and that didn’t help any.

“She didn’t beat anybody in that race (an $18,360 non-winners race at Mohawk on Sept. 20, 2012) but it got her confidence up. She raced really good in Kentucky and then two weeks before the Breeders Crown she kicked the fence and cut her back pastern.

New Image Media photo

Belle Boyd has won seven straight races to begin her sophomore season.

“We stitched it but it didn’t work and she ended up getting an infection in it the day before the Breeders Crown. I still took her down there for it and that morning she couldn’t walk on it so I had to scratch her. That was a really bad kick in the head because I thought she would do well in the Breeders Crown.”

So Jamieson, who co-owns the daughter of Art Major-Yankee Luck with Joanne Morrison and Thomas Kyron, put the filly away and brought her back this year with a third place finish in a qualifying race at Woodbine on March 7.

After a 2-year-old campaign that saw her win one race out of 11, although she did compete in the Eternal Camnation and She’s A Great Lady, and earn $48,420 in purse money, Belle Boyd has come into her own as a sophomore. In her seven starts this year, she has yet to not have her picture taken and has already banked nearly $90,000.

Belle Boyd has raced exclusively at Woodbine and was victorious in the finals of the Blossom Pacing Series in April and the Princess Pacing Series in May.

Her next engagement is the elimination for the Fan Hanover Stake on Saturday (June 8) at Mohawk. Belle Boyd will leave from post four in the sixth race for driver Jody Jamieson and faces top fillies I Luv The Nitelife and Nikki Beach in a field of ten. The top nine finishers will join Jerseylicious, who accepted a bye, in the Fan Hanover final on June 15.

“I think she should be good,” Jamieson said. “She’s had three weeks off and she should be great coming in there.”

Purchased for $90,000 by Jamieson at the 2011 Lexington Selected Sale, Belle Boyd, who was bred by Kentuckiana Farms Gen Par, is a half-sister to Find A Penny (Grinfromeartoear, p,3,1:53.3s, $60,995) and a full sister to Captain Sir (p,2,1:52.3, $40,283) and Lucky Cadet (p,3,1:51.2f, $118,463). Her pedigree did influence the decision to buy her.

“I had her full brother, Captain Sir,” Jamieson, who was recently inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame, said. “He was a nice horse and died when he was three. I liked her a lot. She was always a big filly and was bigger than he was, but she had a nice conformation, too. That’s why I bought her and paid $90,000. She wasn’t cheap.”

After her appearance in the Fan Hanover, Belle Boyd has a very full year ahead of her with plenty of stakes on her schedule.

“Last year she had to come from behind all the time because Jody (Jamieson) kept taking her back and wouldn’t leave with her,” Jamieson said. “She always had such a long way to come, but he was trying to teach her to be quiet. This year I’m really happy with how she came back and she’s staked up in all of the big races.

“She’s just a real nice filly. She’s good to work with and good on the track.

“I hope she wins all of them.”