Brown battles other top trainers in pair of maiden races
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The spring/summer Belmont at the Big A meet, the final meet to be run at historic Aqueduct Racetrack, will begin Thursday with a quiet eight-race card, highlighted by a pair of open-company maiden special weights. In the shadow of great fanfare at Churchill Downs, several trainers still have promising runners with strong chances in New York.
The first race of the meet will be an $85,000 maiden special weight for at a mile on dirt, featuring four 3-year-old fillies and the 4-year-old Tejanita. Trainer Chad Brown has two entered in the short field.
Directive, a second-time starter, will stretch out to a mile after debuting at 6 1/2 furlongs earlier this month at Aqueduct, where she closed well to finish second with a 78 Beyer Speed Figure.
“She’s definitely bred to get more distance effectively, and she’s always trained like a good horse,” Brown said. “I thought her debut was very promising and I’m looking forward to her second start with some fitness experience and added distance.”
Pomerance, Brown’s other filly in the field, ran just once as a juvenile and returned to Aqueduct in March, going to the early lead before fading to third on a muddy track.
Todd Pletcher, Shug McGaughey, and Miguel Clement all have fillies entered against Brown’s duo in the field of five. Irresistible has finished second in back-to-back starts for Pletcher and finished 5 3/4 lengths clear of the Clement trainee Moonlit when they raced March 28.
In the fifth race, an $85,000 maiden special weight for 3-year-olds, Brown will send out Steady Force at a mile on turf in his debut. Finding the right surface for the colt has been a challenge, one that Brown still needs to take steps to solve.
“We’ll see,” Brown said. “He’s been a tough one to figure out, if he’s going to be dirt or turf. He’s bred more for dirt, but his works have been a little inconsistent on the dirt. He’s giving me a turfy feel physically, but we’ll see. I’d say that at some point in time, we’ll probably have to start him on both surfaces to be sure about it.”
Steady Force is one of five horses in the field of 11 3-year-olds who sold for six figures at auction, having been purchased by Jeffrey Drown and Don Rachel for $160,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September yearling sale.
Brown said he had no trepidations about debuting at route distances when his horses show signs of ability going longer. Clement has been similarly pragmatic early in his training career and will send out King’s Remark, the other first-time starter in the field of 11 3-year-olds.
“He’s just starting to figure out what everything is all about,” Clement said. “He might need a race, both physically and mentally. Nevertheless, this might be the right opportunity. If it remains on the grass, you would love a little cut in the ground. I believe he’ll be a live longshot and one to follow more for the future than on his debut.”
While Clement hopes for a softer turf course for his Irish-bred first-time starter, he also entered Blazing Tiger, who wants the course as firm as possible. If the conditions are right, the trainer said he could be sitting on a big race off a nearly four-month break.
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