Storm Miami cuts back in $175K Listed Athenia

EGL-One Racing’s Storm Miami will turn back in distance for Friday’s $175,000 Listed Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf route for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Belmont Park.

Trained by Amelia Green, Storm Miami also enjoys some class relief after five consecutive starts in graded company that resulted in runner-up efforts in the 11-furlong Grade 3 Sheepshead Bay in May at Belmont at the Big A as well as at Saratoga Race Course in the 12-furlong Grade 2 Glens Falls on August 2 and the 11-furlong Grade 3 Waya on August 28.

Storm Miami [post 1, Jaime Rodriguez] utilized a pacesetting approach in each of those efforts, earning a career-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure in the Glens Falls when 1 3/4-lengths back of Survie, who exited that event to best the boys in the Grade 1 Christophe Clement Turf.

Last out, the 5-year-old Blue Point mare was an uncharacteristic seventh in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Flower Bowl on October 1 over the firm inner turf. There, she rated in third position behind the freewheeling leader Opulent Restraint but could not kick on once straightened for home and landed 4 1/4-lengths back of the victorious closer Kathynmarissa, who is pointed to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

“She’s always right there. We're easing back into a non-graded stakes, hoping that we can get that stakes win with her,” Green said. “I think, in hindsight, cutting back in her last race, we thought there was going to be more speed, and the plan was to sit. She hung in there late and she only got beaten about four lengths in the end.

“Visibly, it didn’t look like she ran as good,” Green continued. “But when you look at who she was running against last time, and she was very close to the winner coming from far back, I thought she ran as good of a race as she had in the three before that.”

The Irish-bred Storm Miami, out of the Listed stakes-placed Sea The Stars mare Cosmic Love, has banked $417,476 through a 27-2-7-3 record. She was a $155,000 purchase at the 2026 Keeneland January Horses of Racing Age Sale and had made 20 starts before that buy, including a runner-up finish in the 2023 Marwell at Naas during a juvenile campaign for conditioner Ger Lyons that preceded a two-season tenure for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out Grayosh [post 7, Samuel Marin] as he looks to secure a record-extending 11th Athenia win.

Brown’s past Athenia winners include Pianist [2013], Roca Rojo [2016], Off Limits [2017], Rymska [2018], Tapit Today [2020], Pocket Square [2021], Love And Thunder [2022], Technical Analysis [2023], Child of the Moon [2024] and Whiskey Decision [2025].

Grayosh has banked $562,968 through an 18-4-1-4 record topped by wins in the 2024 Grade 2 Lake Placid at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Matchmaker in July at Monmouth Park. She enters from a third-place finish as the favorite in the nine-furlong All Along won by returning rival Mischief in Motion.

Trainer Joe Sharp sends out a strong pair in Grade 3-placed Miwa [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr.] and allowance winner Ontario [post 3, Dylan Davis].

Repole Stable’s Miwa, a 5-year-old Siyouni mare, has hit the board in each of her three outings this year, taking an optional-claiming mile in June at Churchill Downs ahead of placings traveling 1 1/16-miles in the Indiana General Assembly Distaff Handicap [3rd] in July at Horseshoe Indianapolis and the Listed One Dreamer [2nd] on September 6 at Kentucky Downs.

Last out, Miwa set the pace in a match race with May Day Ready and had to settle for a 4 1/2-length second.

“I knew she was in trouble with that because she’s a filly that needs a target and something to run at,” Sharp said. “I think having a little pace in front of her will help her a lot. I think the Belmont configuration will suit her.”

Sharp said he was impressed with Miwa’s seasonal debut when closing from last-of-7 to win going away while racing from a nearly seven-month layoff.

“That race is in her. I think she’s sitting on a big one,” Sharp said.

NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods’ appropriately named Ontario, a 5-year-old Ghostzapper chestnut, boasts a consistent 9-2-2-1 record on turf. She enters from a pair of nine-furlong efforts over the lawn, including a rallying head win from 12 lengths off the pace on August 5 at Saratoga and an even fourth last out under Rafael Hernandez in the Belfountain versus fellow Ontario-breds on September 13 at Woodbine.

“It just wasn’t the trip for her [last time]. There wasn’t a lot of pace and he [Hernandez] asked her to be a little closer than she’s comfortable,” Sharp said. “She just seemed a little rank and then flattened late. I think she has a similar kind of ideal running style as Miwa does as far as wanting to have something to run at.”

Live Oak Plantation’s Mischief in Motion [post 2, Angel Cruz] sports a 7-3-1-0 record since switching to turf last summer for trainer Michael Trombetta.

The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay captured the nine-furlong Christiana over soft footing last September at Delaware Park. She followed with a pair of 1 1/16-mile stakes tries at Gulfstream Park, landing second in the Cellars Shiraz and 11th in the Listed Tropical Park Oaks.

Mischief in Motion made her seasonal debut from a more than eight-month layoff with a distant fifth in the Violet in August at Monmouth Park and last out led gate-to-wire to take down the nine-furlong All Along over good going on September 26 at Laurel Park.

“Her last race was good, and hopefully that will be enough to make her fit,” Trombetta said. “She likes the mile and an eighth. There’s only so many races to run her, so we’ve been planning on this race.”

Rounding out a talented field are Starship Athena [post 4, Jose Lezcano], last-out winner of the George Rosenberger Memorial at Delaware Park, for trainer Michelle Nevin; and multiple stakes-placed Princess Attitude [post 6, Antonio Fresu] for conditioner Victoria Oliver.

The Athenia is slated as Race 6 on Friday’s 10-race card. First post at Belmont on Friday is 11:40 a.m. Eastern with the property open for simulcasting from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to accommodate the Breeders’ Cup Future Stars program from Keeneland.

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