Brown has rare turf sprinter in French import Tazara
?q=100)
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – For all his success on turf, trainer Chad Brown isn’t well known for his prowess with turf sprinters.
“I just don’t get a lot of them,” said Brown, who reminded that he conditioned the multiple graded stakes turf sprinter Silver Timber some dozen years ago.
Brown may have a talented female turf sprinter in Tazara, who makes her U.S. and seasonal debut in a second-level allowance/optional $75,000 claiming race that serves as the feature on Sunday’s nine-race card at Aqueduct.
Tazara, an Irish-bred daughter of Blue Point, went 2 for 9 in France under the tutelage of trainer Christophe Ferland. She did compete against the likes of Bradsell, a Group 1 winner, and Oujda, a multiple Group 3 winner. Tazara finished second to Oujda in the Prix de Seite Et Oise last October at Chantilly.
Tazara shows eight works for this race, including a couple of bullet breezes over the Payson Park turf course.
“We’ll start her off here and maybe she’ll stretch, but she’s been sprinting well,” said Brown, who has Flavien Prat to ride. “She trains pretty good.”
Her most recent race, last Oct. 6, came over heavy ground so some residual moisture from Friday’s rains shouldn’t bother Tazara.
The New York-bred Weekend Rags, trained by Jorge Abreu, returns to New York after racing three times at Gulfstream Park’s winter meet. After winning a first-level allowance race, she ran twice in stakes, finishing fourth, beaten just 1 1/2 lengths by Epona’s Hope, in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint on Feb. 8 and then fifth to Epona’s Hope in the Captiva Island on March 15.
“I think the first time she ran really well, I think the second time she got a little tired. I ran her back too soon,” Abreu said. “But she came back and she’s doing really well. She’s had two good breezes and her last breeze was very good.”
Abreu said he likes the fact Weekend Rags gets to stretch out to six furlongs after making her last three starts at five furlongs. Weekend Rags has two wins and a third from four starts over Aqueduct’s turf.
Dylan Davis rides from post 3.
Trainer Mark Casse sends out the uncoupled pair of Creed’s Gold and Golden Canary. Creed’s Gold is coming off a narrow defeat to Crown Imperial in this condition on April 10. Crown Imperial came back to run second with a career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure in the Unbridled Sidney Stakes on May 2 at Churchill Downs. Creed’s Gold will be trying six furlongs for the first time.
Golden Canary won the Soaring Free Stakes as a 2-year-old in August 2023. She has just one win since but may appreciate turning back to a one-turn race after finishing fourth in a two-turn allowance at Gulfstream on April 12.
Ultimate Ready had some traffic trouble when sixth in the same race in which Creed’s Gold finished second. It was Ultimate Ready’s lone defeat from three career starts. Junior Alvarado rides for Bill Mott.
Soloshot, Cara’s Time, and Simply Stated complete the field on turf. Golden Degree is the lone main-track-only entrant in the field.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.