OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Cinderella’s Dream heads a trio of European-based 3-year-old fillies who are seeking North American Grade 1 glory in Saturday’s $500,000 Belmont Oaks at Aqueduct. With a nine-horse field, the Belmont Oaks came up the strongest of the four stakes offered on Saturday’s 11-race program. Cinderella’s Dream, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin Racing, won her first four career starts before finishing seventh, beaten 4 1/4 lengths, in the English 1000 Guineas on May 5. The English Guineas has proven to be quite productive, with runners coming out of it winning the Group 1 Coronation at Royal Ascot, the Irish 1000 Guineas, and the German 1000 Guineas as well as posting a runner-up finish in the Epsom Oaks. The English 1000 Guineas was a one-mile race run down a straightaway. Cinderella’s Dream found herself behind horses and never did really quicken. “I think she’s a filly that’s more suited to a turning track,” Appleby said. “In the Guineas, I thought she ran a creditable race. It wasn’t a smooth passage through.” Cinderella’s Dream had even less than a smooth trip in winning the Jumeirah 1000 Guineas at Meydan in March when the saddle slipped during the running of the race and jockey William Buick purposely kicked his foot out of the irons. After going wide around the turn, Cinderella’s Dream kept a straight path through the stretch and drew off impressively despite the issues. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports The 1 3/16-mile Oaks will be Cinderella’s Dream first start beyond a mile, but Appleby doesn’t see that as an issue. “We feel the step up in trip should suit her,” Appleby said. “She’s out of a mare where stamina is in the pedigree.” Fun With Flags and Secret Satire are the other European-based runners in the field. Fun With Flags is 3 for 4 with a runner-up finish in the Group 3 Prix Cleopatre at Saint Cloud in April. “She’s a very useful filly, the other day the ground was way too patchy and soft and she didn’t like it,” trainer Jerome Reynier said. “She had a bit of a break. She’s fresh. She looks great and is training well.” Reynier said that Fun With Flags was ridden prominently in her previous two starts, but he believes her best performance was when she same from off the pace in a race in France in January. “She was out the back and switched to the outside and flew home and was very impressive that day,” Reynier said. “The last two furlongs were quick, and she won easily.” In 2018, Reynier sent the filly Chipolata to this race at Belmont Park. Chipolata, who ran in Christophe Clement’s name, finished third at 36-1. Reynier said Fun With Flags “is about the same quality-wise” as Chipolata. Secret Satire, trained by Andrew Balding, is 2 for 5 racing in England. She won a Group 3 in York in May before finishing 10th of 12 in the Epsom Oaks. Maddy O’Meara, an assistant to Balding, said the competition was probably too tough for Secret Satire in the Epsom Oaks but her race prior to that was “impressive,” she said. Secret Satire may be worth watching in the pre-race warm-ups. “At home she is an absolute saint, here she’s been quite sassy out on the track the last two days,” O’Meara said. “She’s fresh and she gets quite pepped up and revved, but she settles normally fine.” Trainer Chad Brown, who has won this race six times – including twice when it was known as the Garden City – sends out the pair of Dynamic Pricing and Segesta. Dynamic Pricing was 8-1 when she captured the Grade 2 Edgewood at Churchill Downs, which was a bounce-back effort after a seventh in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs. “She was quite far behind and never really picked the bit up,” Brown said of the Florida Oaks. “I kind of drew a line through it because she always trained well. She definitely ran back to her training her last race.” Segesta is coming off a victory in the Grade 2 Wonder Again, which followed a maiden victory at Keeneland in April. Cherie DeVaux also has two for the Belmont Oaks – She Feels Pretty and Sy B. She Feels Pretty, a daughter of Karakontie, is 3 for 4, including a 5 3/4-length victory in the Hilltop going a mile at Pimlico in her 3-year-old debut on May 17. “It’ll be interesting to see how she how she handles that added distance,” DeVaux said. “She’s got such a nice turn of foot, we’ll see if that translates into this distance. She’s training well, and the race at Pimlico it didn’t seem like a little bit farther would be out of her wheelhouse.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Sy B, going from a maiden victory to the Grade 2 Wonder Again, made a good showing, getting beat a half-length despite stumbling at the start and hesitating in the stretch while trying to rally between horses. “Her lack of experience showed when she tried to go into that small hole towards the finish,” DeVaux said. “She’s bred to handle the distance, she obviously ran well over the course, those are two positives.” Pin Up Betty and Buchu, the one-two finishers from the Grade 3 Regret Stakes on June 1 at Churchill, complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.