Brown enters five in Lake George with rain in forecast

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With five of the 10 fillies entered in the race, trainer Chad Brown obviously will have a major influence on Friday’s $175,000 Lake George Stakes at Saratoga. But with an 85 percent chance of rain in the forecast for that afternoon, it is Mother Nature who might have the biggest say in determining both the final make-up of the field and outcome of the Grade 3 turf fixture for 3-year-old fillies.

Brown entered Surge Capacity, Tax Implications, Liguria, Revalita, and Utilization Rate in the one-mile Lake George. He said Wednesday he’ll likely run at least four if not all five barring any issue with the weather. He also said he could end up scratching all five if the race were taken off the grass or at least several, including likely favorite Liguria, if the course came up less than firm for the race.

Liguria and Tax Implications finished first and second respectively, three quarters of a length apart, in the one-mile Wild Applause when meeting for the second time last month at Belmont Park. Liguria had to await room, falling back to last on the final bend before swinging wide and finishing with a rush down the center of the course to register her third win in her last four starts. Those races included a similarly popular and even easier victory in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante in her 2-year-old finale on December 3 at Del Mar.

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Tax Implications trailed the field during the early running of the Wild Applause, came wide and rallied steadily to strike the front in early stretch before proving no match for the winner. The effort was a big one coming in her first start since finishing second in the Chelsey Flower eight months earlier at Aqueduct. Tax Implications easily defeated Liguria when the pair first met in their career debuts last summer at Monmouth Park.

“Both ran terrific last time,” said Brown. “Tax Implications was probably at a little bit of a disadvantage not having run yet this season and I thought she did terrific for her first start as a 3-year-old. Liguria got over that dull effort at Churchill over a course most of my horses didn’t handle. I was pretty confident she’d rebound. I think she’s a real interesting horse going on through the year, eventually when getting her to a mile and one eighth.”

Revalita has knocked on the door against graded stakes company in all three of her U.S. starts but is without a victory to show for her strong efforts. In her last outing, Revalita finished third, beaten 1 1/4 lengths as the 7-5 favorite in the Grade 2 Wonder Again at Belmont.

“Revalita has run well, but she’s been a bit of a bridesmaid so far,” said Brown. “I’ve cut her back in distance a little and she’s training well. She’s one of the three proven horses I have in the field and then we have Surge Capacity and Utilization Rate. Those horses only broke their maidens but did it the right way powering away from the group. I thought I’d enter and take a look with those horses.”

Brown says it’s the lack of options for 3-year-old fillies, both locally and around the region, that is the main reason he entered five horses in the Lake George.

“I’m very disappointed that NYRA did away with some of those listed races for 3-year-olds. That series of listed stakes was a good way to run these maiden winners, horses eligible for their first-level allowance condition at a mile,” said Brown. “I don’t understand why, because the purses are about the same, but it has created a logjam in this race.”

The five non-Chad Brown trained fillies in the Lake George are Queen Picasso, Lil Miss Moonlight, Tryinmyheartout, Princess Bettina, and Secret Money.

Queen Picasso is perfect in two starts, coming off her game maiden win at Gulfstream Park with a two-length victory in the Grade 3 Soaring Softly Stakes at Belmont May 27. She figures to be an early pace factor breaking from the rail and stretching out to a mile on Friday.

Princess Bettina won the China Doll Stakes in impressive gate-to-wire fashion going a mile on the turf late last winter at Santa Anita. She has made just one start on the East Coast since joining trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn subsequent to that victory, finishing third in the Penn Oaks at Penn National on June 2.

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