ELMONT, N.Y. – At Belmont Park on Saturday afternoon, about an hour from the Broadway stages of Manhattan, two of racing’s leading ladies will look for a high note in their Act 3. Multiple Grade 1 winner Clairiere and 2022 Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath meet for the third time this season in the Grade 1, $500,000 Ogden Phipps Stakes. The winner of the Phipps will earn a fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Distaff through the Win and You're In program. Clairiere, a Stonestreet Farm homebred trained by Steve Asmussen, is the defending winner of the Phipps, overhauling champion Malathaat to win by a head. She bested that rival again in the Grade 2 Shuvee. In the Breeders’ Cup Distaff last November at Keeneland, Clairiere was beaten a pair of noses by Malathaat – who ultimately earned another divisional Eclipse Award – and Blue Stripe. “She was a head away from [a championship] last year,” Stonestreet adviser John Moynihan said. “She was very, very sound last year, and she’s always been sound. Steve has always thought she would get better every year she’s been in training, and we expect her to continue on with the same form that she had last year. She may be even a little better this year than she was last year.” :: DRF Belmont Stakes Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Meanwhile, Briland Farm homebred Secret Oath made an early move to take the Distaff lead before fading to fifth, concluding a hickory nine-start campaign for Wayne Lukas. She won the Kentucky Oaks and two other stakes, and was a creditable third in the Arkansas Derby and fourth in the Preakness Stakes against males. Secret Oath and Clairiere met for the first time this season in the Grade 2 Azeri March 11 at Oaklawn. The two were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the early going before Secret Oath got first run en route to a 2 3/4-length win. Clairiere came on to be second. The tables were turned in Oaklawn’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom April 15. Secret Oath reeled in ambitious early leader Hot and Sultry with what Lukas called an early move by Tyler Gaffalione, who took over the mount this year. The filly led by 1 1/2 lengths in the stretch, but was nailed at the wire by a neck by Clairiere and Joel Rosario, her regular rider since last year. While Clairiere awaited the Phipps, Secret Oath contested Grade 1 La Troienne in May at Churchill Downs. She overcame an early bump to reach contention, but couldn’t get by a stalwart Played Hard in the stretch. Lukas feels the three starts this year have given Gaffalione some insight. “Tyler knows her a little better now, and will ride her a little smarter than he did in some of those others,” Lukas said. The only concern for the legendary trainer is the deeper track at “Big Sandy.” “It’s a much different surface than at Oaklawn or Churchill or even Saratoga,” Lukas said. “She’s such a good mover. I’m just hoping that she’ll adapt to that deeper surface and show up. That’s my only concern, but she’s training great. The timing is good, she’s fresh and ready to go.” Both Secret Oath, breaking from post 4, and Clairiere, who drew outside in the compact field of six, will be coming from off the pace – Clairiere from slightly farther back. The game of cat and mouse by Gaffalione and Rosario in the long run down the backstretch and around the sweeping far turn should be fascinating to watch. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  Played Hard and Search Results raced just off the honest pace set by Society in the La Troienne. Played Hard, who has been on the lead in prior starts, could find herself taking the initiative again here, as there is no committed blazing speed in this lineup. John Velazquez, who rode her to a neck win over Secret Oath for her first Grade 1 last out, is in the irons again Saturday. Search Results is a Grade 1 winner around one turn at Belmont, and was third in the Phipps last year after leading in the stretch. She finished a half-length behind Secret Oath in the La Troienne in a race trainer Chad Brown did not feel was an ideal trip. “She never quite extracted herself off the rail to be outside in the stretch, which is where she might want to be,” Brown said. “It was a good first race back, and she seems to have moved forward off it.” Search Results, who drew post 2, has a better chance at getting outside here with a long run to the only turn for the small field. In the La Troienne, she drew post 2 in a field of 10 with a short run into the first turn. Pass the Champagne is coming off a win in the Grade 2 Ruffian at Belmont over next-out graded winner Idiomatic. Gamestonks, a supplemental entry off an allowance win at Penn National, completes the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.