Bret Jones' Libby Lloyd surely lived up to expectations in her career debut.
Named for Bret's mother, Elizabeth "Libby" Lloyd Jones, there was hope the homebred 2-year-old daughter of Into Mischief would be a talented runner.
She was that and then some in her Aug. 15 initial start at Saratoga Race Course. Sent off a 6-5 favorite, she won like a 1-20 shot as she pulled away with ease in the stretch and won by 10 lengths.
"She looked super. She trained with a lot of promise," trainer Chad Brown said after the race. "It's wonderful for the family to have a talented filly out of this mare and, of course, to have it named after Libby."
Much more will be learned about Libby Lloyd and that eye-opening debut Oct. 3 when she jumps into grade 1 company and faces six rivals in the $500,000 Frizette Stakes (G1) for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont Park.
"She looks good," Brown said, who gave the filly a :47.60 work at Belmont on Sept. 25. "I got her to Belmont a little bit earlier because my gut told me to get her a work over this track. That filly excelled on the main track at Saratoga in her training, not as much on the training track, so when they closed the main track, I felt keeping her on a bigger track is better for her to train. I brought her to the main track at Belmont, and she breezed beautifully. I was really pleased with it."
Brown will be searching for his first Frizette win since 2017 with the daughter of the grade 2-winning Proud Citizen mare Indian Pride, who will be stretching out from 6 furlongs to a one-turn mile in the Frizette.
The Frizette carries some added bonuses for the seven starters as it is part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen series and will award $30,000 in starting fees for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to the winner and $15,000 and $7,500 to the second- and third-place finishers
As part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1) series, it will also distribute 10-5-3-2-1 points toward a starting spot in the Kentucky Oaks to the top five finishers.
Though most of the field has just a maiden win to their credit, the unbeaten Velora enters as the lone stakes winner in the field. Owned by Winning Move Stable, Sabby Racing, IEE Racing, Sanford Robbins, and Silverwood Stables, the New York-bred daughter of Yaupon followed up a debut win with a victory in the Seeking the Ante Stakes for state-breds.
Trained by Linda Rice, Velora made both of her starts at 6 furlongs.
Revenge of the Sis was bought for $500,000 at the 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and made her debut for trainer George Weaver in the two-turn mile Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park, where she finished third.
Owned by CJ Thoroughbreds and breeder John Ropes, the Girvin filly is a full sister to grade 1 winner Dorth Vader.
"I think Dorth Vader had a little more gate speed. Revenge of the Sis is a little slower out of the gate, at least so far, but they're similar mentally. Those are big shoes to fill, so we'll just see. It's early days," said Weaver, who also trained Dorth Vader.
Belmont Park, Saturday, October 3, 2026, Race 9Entries: Frizette S. (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Revenge of the Sis (KY) Edgard J. Zayas 122 George Weaver - 2 She's a Twelve (NJ) Dylan Davis 122 Kelly J. Breen - 3 Girls Wear Pearls (KY) Jose E. Morelos 122 Jena M. Antonucci - 4 Libby Lloyd (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Chad C. Brown - 5 Dotsy (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 122 John A. Grabowski - 6 Rum Twist (KY) Paco Lopez 122 Mark A. Hennig - 7 Velora (NY) Manuel Franco 122 Linda Rice -
