Brown duo to vie for favoritism in Appalachian
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Chad Brown has trained some awesome turf fillies in a little more than a decade, and you’d be hard-pressed to name a trio better than this: Dayatthespa, Lady Eli, and Rushing Fall.
Their commonality, besides their overall greatness, dovetails with victories in the Grade 2, $200,000 Appalachian Stakes, which will be run Sunday at Keeneland for the 31st time. Brown once again holds a strong hand in the one-mile turf race with the uncoupled entry of Clause and Regal Glory, both of whom will be looking to take their game to another level when they face nine other 3-year-old fillies.
Either could come favored, and each has an Ortiz brother aboard. Clause (post 1, Irad Ortiz Jr.) earned an 83 Beyer Speed Figure when she rallied to win an eye-catching career debut at Gulfstream Park in early February, less than a week after Regal Glory (post 9, Jose Ortiz), already a stakes winner, finished second with an 81 Beyer in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant in her first start of the year.
Brown is targeting the May 3 Edgewood at Churchill Downs as the comeback spot for Newspaperofrecord, whose sensational 2-year-old campaign casts a huge shadow over this division.
The prime opposition for the Brown fillies includes Princesa Carolina (post 5, Brian Hernandez Jr.), whose runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride at Gulfstream resulted in a field-high 85 Beyer; California invader Angel Alessandra (post 6, Florent Geroux), stretching out off a sharp last-out victory in an allowance on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita; and Catch a Thrill (post 3, John Velazquez), who tries two turns after a couple of encouraging sprints at Gulfstream to begin her career.
Princesa Carolina, a gray Tapit filly trained by Kenny McPeek, already is the best of three foals to race from the multiple Grade 1 winner Pure Clan, who earned nearly $2 million in the late 2000s for the late Bob Holthus.
“I’m really excited about her,” said Hernandez. “She ran huge off the layoff last time.”
The balance of the lineup is Winning Envelope, The Mackem Bullet, Naughty Joker, Hard Legacy, Beautiful Ballad, and Primela. Primela (post 11, Luis Saez), was a creditable fourth in the Herecomesthebride in her North American debut and her first start for Cherie Devaux, the former longtime assistant to Brown.
The early pace in the Appalachian is a bit tricky to quantify and could depend largely on what Catch a Thrill does with the added distance. Otherwise, it’s a grab bag, with either of the Wesley Ward fillies, The Mackem Bullet and Naughty Joker, owning enough early speed to show the way, or even Regal Glory being prominent if sent from her outer post.
The Appalachian, first run in 1989, goes as the eighth of nine Sunday races and is the second of back-to-back graded stakes for 3-year-old fillies. The Grade 3 Beaumont, contested at the Beard Course distance of seven furlongs and 184 feet, directly precedes it as race 7.
The forecast calls for a chance of thundershowers and a high of 75. After Sunday, Keeneland goes dark for two days before the first five-day week of the meet begins Wednesday with an eight-race card. First post daily is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.
