Brown goes for fourth straight P.G. Johnson

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown has won three consecutive runnings of the P.G. Johnson Stakes, the last two with maidens. On Thursday, Brown will send out the maiden Ava’s Kitten in the $100,000 P.G. Johnson for 2-year-old fillies on turf at Saratoga.

Ava’s Kitten finished 1 1/4 lengths behind Thrilled and Harmonize in an Aug. 9 maiden race here. Thrilled and Harmonize are both in the P.G. Johnson, which drew a field of six and is carded as race 4.

Seaside Schiller, a debut winner at Belmont, is entered in both the P.G. Johnson and Saturday’s $300,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Turf. Her trainer, Michael Matz, on Tuesday seemed to be leaning toward the Kentucky Downs race, which is at seven furlongs as opposed to the 1 1/16 miles of the P.G. Johnson.

Finn’s Girl, a debut winner at Delaware, and Fooled by Magic, a maiden, are the other two runners in this field.

Like Partisan Politics in 2014 and Granny Mc’sKitten in 2013, Ava’s Kitten ran well in her debut, but not good enough to win. Brown believes Ava’s Kitten was a bit short entering her first race.

“I thought she ran well,” Brown said of Ava’s Kitten, named in honor of Brown’s daughter Ava. “I thought I ran her a little sooner in the meet than I wanted. I think she got a lot out of it. We’ve been lucky enough to win this race a couple of times with maidens, I’m not afraid to run her.”

Javier Castellano rides Ava’s Kitten from post 3. As a maiden, Ava’s Kitten gets in with 116 pounds, four less than Thrilled and Finn’s Girl.

KEY CONTENDERS

Ava’s Kitten (Beyer: 69)

◗ A full sister to Grade 1 winner Real Solution, Ava’s Kitten came up a little flat in the stretch of her 1 1/16-mile debut despite a ground-saving trip.

“She had a great trip first-time out,” Brown said. “I didn’t have quite enough work under her belt.”

◗ Since the race, Ava’s Kitten has had two half-mile breezes.

Thrilled (Beyer: 72)

◗ Rallied from well off the pace and along the rail to run down Harmonize in debut.

“I thought she ran very well, very professional first out,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “She’s come out of it well. Big, strong filly. We like what we’ve seen so far.”

Harmonize (Beyer: 72)

◗ Made all the pace and had a two-length lead in her debut before being caught late while switching back to her wrong lead in deep stretch.

◗ Has the rail and could play out as the primary speed again, though Fooled by Magic is a sprinter stretching out, so she could show some early lick.

Seaside Schiller (Beyer: 71)

◗ Goes from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles if she runs in this race. She is likely to run in Saturday’s Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies Turf, where she drew post 4 in a full field.