Brown can close meet with stakes double
ELMONT, N.Y. – Chad Brown enters Sunday’s closing-day card already having secured his third consecutive Belmont fall-meet training title. He will try to put a bow on the meet with at least one – perhaps two – stakes victories.
Brown has top contenders entered in both the Grade 3, $200,000 Turnback the Alarm Handicap and the $100,000 Awad Stakes, though he is not certain to run Offering Plan in the Awad.
In the Turnback the Alarm, Brown sends out the uncoupled entry of Endless Chatter and Catch My Drift in a field of eight that includes the Todd Pletcher-trained uncoupled entry of Teen Pauline and the undefeated Dame Dorothy.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Dame Dorothy. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 25-2-6-2 with a $0.41 ROI over the past two years going synthetic to dirt in routes. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Endless Chatter, a daughter of First Samurai, put together a three-race winning streak earlier this year, culminating in a 1 3/4-length victory in the Summer Colony Stakes going 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga. Endless Chatter stepped up into the Grade 1 Beldame Invitational, finishing third to the runaway winner, Belle Gallantey.
“I thought she ran very credible in the Beldame,” said Brown, who ended Friday’s card with 28 wins at this meet. “We’ve been pointing to this race for some time.”
Joel Rosario rides Endless Chatter from post 6.
The 3-year-old Catch My Drift has won 3 of 4 starts, with her only loss coming in the Grade 1 Alabama, in which she ran seventh, beaten five lengths. All three of her wins came around two turns at either Parx or Monmouth.
Brown said he is using the Turnback the Alarm as a stepping-stone to the Grade 3, $400,000 Comely Stakes for 3-year-olds Nov. 29.
In the Awad, Brown entered Offering Plan to give him and his owners an option should they elect to skip the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, in which he is pre-entered.
After nicely defeating New York-breds at Saratoga, Offering Plan finished third to Imperia in the Grade 3 Pilgrim.
“I thought he did run well, and he did move forward. He was facing a much tougher field than he did when he beat New York-bred maidens,” Brown said. “I think he’s a nice horse with a bright future.”
Turnback the Alarm (race 9)
Key contenders
Endless Chatter (Last 3 Beyers: 85-92-89)
* Reeled off three consecutive victories, albeit around two turns, before finishing third in the Beldame last out.
* She has trained very well since the Beldame, including a head-and-head workout with the Breeders’ Cup Classic-bound Zivo last weekend.
Teen Pauline (Last 3 Beyers 90-97-95)
* Won three consecutive two-turn stakes over Aqueduct’s inner track, including the Grade 2 Top Flight in March. When she shipped to south Florida to train, Pletcher didn’t feel she was training as sharply, and she was given time off.
* She has worked steadily for her return, though her last work had to be aborted in the middle due to a loose horse running around the Belmont training track.
* Though her success has come in two-turn races, Teen Pauline does loom as the primary speed in this one-turn race.
“With Teen Pauline, it’s all about getting into a good rhythm. She has speed she can carry over a route of ground,” Pletcher said. “I don’t think she has to be on the lead, but in these route races, she’s going to find herself generally pretty close.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Teen Pauline. Trainer Todd Pletcher is 5-3-1-0 with a $3.00 ROI over the past five years in dirt-route graded stakes following a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Dame Dorothy (Last 3 Beyers: 74-87-71)
* Pletcher’s other runner in the race, she is 3 for 3, including a 12-length maiden victory in the slop at Gulfstream in January.
* Spent some time at the Fair Hill training center to deal with a lung issue following a Sept. 14 work.
“This is definitely a class test for her running against older mares,” Pletcher said. “She’s always impressed us as a very talented filly, and this may not be the ideal spot to bring her back with just the one start [since January], but looking forward to the Comely, this seemed like a logical stepping-stone.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Flores Island. Trainer Marty Wolfson is 36-8-5-5 with a $4.39 ROI over the past five years going sprint to route in the second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Tapit's World. Trainer Michelle Nevin is 70-16-17-14 with a $2.49 ROI over the past year in dirt routes. Click for more details. – Dan Illman
Awad (race 5)
Key contenders
Offering Plan (Last 2 Beyers: 78-73)
* Displayed a strong turn of foot in winning his debut against New York-breds at Saratoga before running a decent third in the Pilgrim.
* Pre-entered for the BC Juvenile Turf and may scratch to run there.
Vision Perfect (Last 3 Beyers: 80-70-72)
* Has run well in all three starts, including a second-place finish behind Imperia in the Pilgrim at 28-1 odds.
* Must overcome outside but does have potential to be main speed in the race.
A Lot (Last 2 Beyers: 76-47)
* Improved a lot when transferred from dirt to turf, where he won a six-furlong maiden race in a good time. Has the pedigree to stretch out to a mile for trainer Bill Mott, who also sends out Gustnado, a maiden winner going long earlier in the meet.