Brown gobbles up Del Mar victories again on Thanksgiving weekend

DEL MAR, Calif. – In the last five years, Thanksgiving weekend at Del Mar has been a late-season showcase for top trainer Chad Brown’s deep stable of turf runners.

Beginning in 2016, Brown has won at least one graded turf stakes on the holiday weekend at Del Mar. This year, Brown sent another strong group from his New York base and had his best success in recent seasons, winning four stakes from Thursday through Sunday.

Orglandes won Thursday’s Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap for fillies and mares, followed by two stakes wins for the stable on Saturday – the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby with the highly promising Domestic Spending and the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies with Fluffy Socks.

On Sunday, Brown finished first and second with Viadera and Blowout in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf, the two 4-year-olds separated by a nose after a thrilling finish.

Viadera, owned by Juddmonte Farms, was a minor stakes winner in Ireland for trainer Ger Lyons in 2019. This year for Brown, Viadera has won 3 of 4 starts, with the wins in consecutive stakes since mid-summer. Viadera won the De La Rose Stakes on July 17 at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Noble Damsel Stakes on Sept. 26 at Belmont Park.

The $301,500 Matriarch Stakes was her Grade 1 debut.

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It is possible that all four of the stakes winners, as well as second-place finishers such as Blowout and Flavius, could be back at Del Mar next fall – for Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 5-6 or the major turf stakes held on Thanksgiving weekend.

Domestic Spending, the 4-1 third choice, won for the fourth time in his fifth start in the $303,000 Hollywood Derby, closing from 10th in a field of 11 to win by a head over 5-2 favorite Smooth Like Strait. The Hollywood Derby was Domestic Spending’s first race since a win in his stakes debut in the Saratoga Derby at 1 3/16 miles in August. A start in the Grade 2 Hill Prince Stakes on Oct. 18 at Belmont Park was canceled after the gelding was diagnosed with an illness.

“It was a blessing in disguise because it freshened him up,” Brown said Sunday of the rearranged plans. “He’s kind of a slightly-made horse.

“He’s a horse that continued to improve all year. I’m very proud of him, he’s got a really good, consistent record.”
Owned by Klaravich Stables, Domestic Spending will be rested until early January, Brown said. Races such as the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in May will be early season goals for Domestic Spending.

“A mile and an eighth definitely seems like his distance,” Brown said. “Like I’ve said before, some of these horses, when they get a little bit older, you can get them to go a little bit longer on the turf. He might be one of them.”

Fluffy Socks is a nose away from being a three-time stakes winner. She won her stakes debut in the Selima Stakes on Oct. 3 at Pimlico and was beaten a nose by stablemate Ingrassia in the Chelsey Flower Stakes on Nov. 1 at Belmont Park. The $102,500 Durante Stakes was the graded stakes debut for Fluffy Socks and was not without a touch of controversy.

Owned by Head of Plains Partners, Fluffy Socks closed from ninth in a field of 10 to win by a half-length as the 8-5 favorite. The stewards spent about 10 minutes reviewing an incident on the turn when jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. moved Fluffy Socks to the outside for running room, forcing Consternation to be checked. The order of finish was not changed after the stewards ruled Consternation was not cost a better placing. Consternation finished fifth.

Fluffy Socks is by Slumber, winner of the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Belmont Park in 2015 for Brown.

“I think that the filly, like her father, will run a mile and a quarter, no problem, especially as she matures,” Brown said.

Brown plans a springtime return for Fluffy Socks, with an emphasis on the lucrative stakes for 3-year-old fillies in the second half of the year. The filly’s presence in the Durante Stakes was a late change of plans after the Chelsey Flower.

“She bounced out of it so good I altered plans and proposed to go out there and it worked out,” he said. “I’m really happy we did that.”

Orglandes had her stakes debut in her 10th start in the Red Carpet Handicap at 1 3/8 miles. A two-time winner in France in 2019, Orglandes has won 2 of 3 starts for Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Wonder Stables and Brown this year.

Brown had hoped for a more extensive campaign this year for the 4-year-old Orglandes, but the season was curtailed because of the pandemic.

“She was ready a lot earlier in the year than we got her started,” he said.

In 2021, distance races, such as the New York Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf in early June, will be goals for Orglandes.

Brown finished second and sixth in Saturday’s Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf with Flavius and Spirit Animal. Flavius led in the stretch, but was caught in the final strides by Count Again, losing by three-quarters of a length.

Flavius broke from post 11 in a field of 12, which affected his chances, the trainer said.

“I thought the winner ran super, looks like a nice horse, and our horse ran really well,” Brown said. “I think the difference of a length or so was probably the post. He was quite wide the whole way, but granted, he stayed out of trouble and there was quite a bit of traffic inside which Spirit Animal got into. It’s a tradeoff, he went wide but got a very clean trip, I was proud of him.”

Owned by Juddmonte Farms, Flavius will be pointed to one-mile races in 2021. In September, Flavius won the $750,000 Tourist Mile at Kentucky Downs.
Brown may have more to do in California this year. Capital Structure and Duopoly are being considered for the Grade 1 American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita.

– additional reporting by David Grening