Courtesy of NYRA
Gratefully puts undefeated record on the line in G2 Intercontinental
Keith McCalmont • May 29 2026
Adelphi Racing Club, Shelly Hume and Russell Hume’s Gratefully puts her perfect 5-for-5 record on the line in Thursday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Intercontinental, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for older fillies and mares, on Day Two of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course.
The Intercontinental [Race 8] is one of four stakes on Thursday’s 11-race program, and is co-featured with the Grade 2, $250,000 Belmont Gold Cup [Race 10], the Grade 3, $300,000 Pennine Ridge [Race 3] and the $175,000 Jersey Girl [Race 2]. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.
Trained by Robert Falcone, Jr., the 4-year-old Laoban dark bay returns to the site of her first career win, a six-length romp in an off-the-turf maiden claiming sprint in August at the Spa while in the care of conditioner Ray Handal. She made her next four outings for Falcone, Jr., including a pair of six-furlong optional-claiming scores at Belmont at the Big A with another off-the-turf win in September before finally getting to grass and prevailing by a nose in October.
The $155,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase has sprinted six furlongs twice this year over the Santa Anita Park turf, stalking and pouncing to a 3 3/4-length optional-claiming score over firm footing in January ahead of a frontrunning head win over Saratoga Special in the restricted Wishing Well over good ground on February 21.
Hall of Famer John Velazquez will be aboard for the first time and Falcone, Jr. said the veteran rider will have tactical options.
“Good horses overcome a lot. When the gates open, it will be whatever her and Johnny have in mind,” Falcone, Jr. said. “If she wants to go, it’s tough to take anything away from her and if she wants to sit, that can work out well, too. She’s shown she can sit.
“She won here on the dirt going 5 1/2-furlongs,” Falcone, Jr. added. “She doesn't like to lose. There's a couple races she could have gotten beat in, and she came back on a couple times to win. She’s a fighter.”
Gratefully [post 7, John Velazquez, 122 pounds] was scratched from the Grade 2 Giant’s Causeway on April 12 at Keeneland with a foot bruise but has since recovered to work a trio of bullets over Saratoga’s Oklahoma dirt training track, including a half-mile effort in 46.60 seconds May 28.
“She came out of it fine. It was unfortunate and bad timing, but the next day she was almost 100 percent and the day after that she was fine,” Falcone, Jr. said regarding the scratch in Kentucky. “She settled in well here at Saratoga and has been working good up to this race.”
Falcone, Jr. said he is hopeful that Gratefully can put together another great performance for an ownership group that will be sure to show up in numbers at Saratoga.
“Adelphi is a great partnership; good people and they've treated me well. It's nice to have a good one for them,” Falcone, Jr. said.
Gratefully is out of the dual graded stakes-winning More than Ready mare Selflessly.
