Brown eyeing Joe Hirsch next for Annals of Time

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The victory by Annals of Time in Saturday’s Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes at Saratoga gave trainer Chad Brown some options to consider as he plots out the future for not only that horse, but the leading older male turf horse Bricks and Mortar.

Annals of Time’s neck victory over Sadler’s Joy came in his first try at 1 1/2 miles. Prior to this year, Annals of Time had won races from a mile to 1 1/8 miles. This puts the Breeders’ Cup Turf in play for Annals of Time with a likely start in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Oct. 5 beforehand.

“He ran great, he showed he could run a mile and a half distance, which was good to see,” Brown said. “He’s a very versatile horse – he’s run good at a mile to a mile and a half.”

Annals of Time earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 102 for his victory in the Sword Dancer.

Brown said what he does with Annals of Time could “potentially” impact how he handles Bricks and Mortar. That horse has won all five of his starts this year including the Arlington Million and Manhattan – both Grade 1 stakes at 1 1/4 miles.

Bricks and Mortar and Annals of Time are both owned by Seth Klarman and William Lawrence. Brown has not yet decided if he’s going to shorten Bricks and Mortar up to a mile or stretch him out with an eye toward the Breeders’ Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles.

“We’ll ultimately manage Bricks and Mortar as the preferred horse of the two but [splitting them up] is a consideration,” Brown said.

On Sunday, Bricks and Mortar returned to the worktab, breezing four furlongs in 49.63 seconds over the Oklahoma turf course in company with Raging Bull.

The Sword Dancer was one of five victories Brown recorded on Saturday’s card, tying a feat most recently accomplished by Todd Pletcher on Aug. 30, 2004. Coincidentally, one of Pletcher’s wins that day came with Ocean Drive in the Ballston Spa. One of Brown’s victories came in the Ballston Spa with Significant Form.

It’s not certain where Significant Form would make her next start. The next logical race in New York for her would seem to be the Grade 3, $200,000 Noble Damsel at Belmont on Sept. 21.

Brown’s fifth win came in the last race with the first-time starter Magic Star, who overcame some traffic trouble to win a 1 1/16-mile maiden race by 2 1/4 lengths. She earned an 83 Beyer Speed Figure.

Brown said Magic Star reminds him a bit of Competitionofideas, who didn’t win her maiden until last Sept. 7 but who at the end of the year won the Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita in late December.

“She struck me yesterday as a horse that long-term could be an American Oaks type of horse later on in the year, like a Competitionofideas that didn’t get going until later,” Brown said. “I’ll probably look for some developmental program to get to that race if she’s good enough.”