Trailing the field throughout the early stages of the race, The Tea Cups rallied determinedly in the final furlong to win the Mount Vernon Stakes at Belmont Park.
The Mount Vernon marked the six-year-old debut for the daughter of Hard Spun, who won the Yaddo Stakes and was second in the John Hettinger Stakes in 2015.
Bred in New York by William Parsons Jr. and David S. Howe, The Tea Cups is out of Lunar Colony, a winning daughter of A.P. Indy. The Tea Cups is a half-sister to multiple Stakes winner Lunar Victory, and hails from the female family of champion Pleasant Stage and G1 winners Seattle Meteor and A Phenomenon.
Hard Spun enjoyed a terrific year in 2015 siring G1 winners Hard Not To Like, Hard Aces, Smooth Roller and Ertijaal. So far in 2016 Hard Spun has sired Le Romain, winner of the G1 Randwick Guineas; Fursa, winner of the G2 SA Fillies Nursery; Reload, winner of the G3 Tampa Bay Stakes; Khusoosy, winner of the G3 Abu Dhabi Championship; and Ghaamer, winner of the G3 HH The President Cup.
Hard Spun is standing the 2016 season at Jonabell Farm for $45,000, stands and nurses.
