After laying low over winter, Brown ready to put pedal to the metal

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It won’t be long before Chad Brown starts sending horses north to Kentucky and New York following what has been a relatively slow start to his 2020.

“We always kind of back off the gas pedal in the winter,” said Brown, the four-time reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer. “But we’ve been even less active at Gulfstream Park this winter than in prior years, which is partly by design but also because our 3-year-old crop has been slower than normal to come around.”

With multiple barns at Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach and Payson Park near Indiantown, Brown soon will be dispatching his race-ready runners to Keeneland, which starts its spring meet April 2, and Belmont Park, where his efforts to earn a fifth straight Eclipse will begin in earnest.

“We’ll send them out in stages,” he said. “I’ll have 32 at Keeneland, and by mid-April we’ll start sending some over to Churchill Downs, where we’ll race through their spring meet.”

Whit Beckman will be Brown’s onsite assistant at Churchill.

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Even with the retirement of Bricks and Mortar, the 2019 Horse of the Year, and a handful of other major winners such as Robert Bruce, Beach Patrol, and Homerique, Brown is hoping to enjoy another huge year. In 2019, he set an all-time record for single-year stable earnings with more than $31.1 million.

“That’s a high bar, but we’re always looking to do as well as we can,” he said.

Brown said he is “happy to still have some horses that didn’t retire that I thought might’ve,” most notably the standout 6-year-old turf mares, Uni and Sistercharlie.

Uni, who breezed Monday at Palm Meadows in her first work since winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile in November, is being pointed to the Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile on the May 2 Kentucky Derby card, while Sistercharlie “needed a little more time” and is aiming for a summer-fall campaign, Brown said.

As for likely next starts for some of his other top filly-mare turf runners: Rushing Fall, the April 11 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland; Newspaperofrecord, a possible prep on Florida Derby weekend at Gulfstream ahead of the Churchill Distaff Mile; and Cafe Americano and Nay Lady Nay, the May 9 Beaugay at Belmont. Meanwhile, Cambier Parc is pointing to a summer-fall campaign after recently returning to Brown’s care.

The Grade 1-winning 4-year-old fillies Dunbar Road and Guarana both are scheduled to resurface on Derby weekend at Churchill, with Dunbar Road going in the La Troienne and Guarana in the Humana Distaff.

Brown said he has “some new shooters and some Europeans” to help fill the older-male horse vacuum created by all the retirements. While Brown is waiting to see how they assimilate, Raging Bull goes in the April 10 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland, and he also has Instilled Regard among a possible trio for the Muniz Memorial next Saturday at Fair Grounds. Annals of Time and Analyze It also are among his best in that male turf category.

Analyze It, unraced since finishing third in the 2018 BC Mile at Churchill, “is back in the barn, jogging and looking good,” Brown said. Annals of Time, a 7-year-old who won the Sword Dancer last August in his latest start, “is back galloping, about a month from his first work,” Brown said.

“He’s had some reoccurring injuries and such. You’ve got to handle him with kid gloves. He loves to run, so we’re trying to get one more season out of him.”

Brown said he has “one shot at making the Kentucky Derby,” and that’s with Country Grammer, fifth in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream two weeks ago. The Tonalist colt goes next in the April 4 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.

“I thought his race in the Fountain of Youth was sneaky good with the way the track was playing, and plus he galloped out past everybody,” Brown said. “I really like him. I think he’s coming around at the right time.”

Brown’s other would-be hopeful for the May 2 Derby was Structor, the unbeaten winner of the BC Juvenile Turf, but he recently began a 60-day turnout because of an unspecified setback.

As for some other Brown stakes-caliber horses due to return to action after layoffs soon: Looking at Bikinis, the April 4 Carter at Aqueduct; Royal Flag, the April 17 Doubledogdare at Keeneland; Network Effect, a Gulfstream allowance before month’s end; Honest Mischief, a Keeneland allowance; Royal Charlotte, an allowance in New York or Kentucky; Regal Glory, a Keeneland turf allowance; Complexity, an Aqueduct allowance next month; and Mutakatif, “who’s probably ready for a stake somewhere soon,” Brown said.

Quite a few notable Brown runners pointing to later campaigns either remain turned out or have breezed at most once since returning to his barn. They include New and Improved, Selflessly, Blowout, Significant Form, Valid Point, Digital Age, and Indian Pride.

Brown said the development of his 3-year-olds could be a key factor in how his year goes.

“For most large stables, that ultimately determines what kind of season you have,” he said. “So, yes, I’m very excited about the next few months and looking forward to see what the rest of year holds for us.”