Brown has three in attempt for fourth straight Turf Classic win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Digital Age in 2019 and Bricks and Mortar in 2020 were clear winners, but in 2021, the Churchill Downs placing judges left Chad hanging as he sought his third straight win in the Turf Classic.

Domestic Spending, trained by Chad Brown, and Colonel Liam, from the barn of Brown’s longtime rival Todd Pletcher, hit the wire simultaneously last May. They circled endlessly outside the winner’s enclosure as the judges scrutinized the photo finish; the race had ended in a dead heat.

Still, that counted as three in a row for Brown and Klaravich Stable, and Brown has three entrants Saturday as he tries for a fourth straight Turf Classic. Public Sector is Klaravich’s hope. Brown also starts Tribhuvan and Adhamo in this Grade 1, $1 million stakes carded for 1 1/8 miles on the new Churchill grass course.

The field of 10 will include Kentucky Ghost, cross-entered in the Opening Verse on May 5 but an intended Turf Classic starter.

:: For the first time ever, our premium past performances are free! Get free Formulator now!

Brown scratched Public Sector from the Maker’s Mark Mile last month at Keeneland in favor of the Turf Classic, the colt’s 4-year-old debut. At 3, he won three graded stakes in a row before making his Grade 1 debut in the Hollywood Derby, finishing a close fourth.

“The [Maker’s Mark] was a little sharp for him. We were always looking at this race,” Brown said. “I see him moving forward this year. We’ll see if he moves to the top, top group, but he’s certainly moved forward; his size, the way he trains, everything he’s doing.

Four-year-old French import Adhamo was nowhere near top class overseas, but made an encouraging North American debut, closing strongly from last of 11 to finish second, beaten a head, Feb. 19 in the Fair Grounds Stakes. Adhamo has since been aimed at the Turf Classic, though Brown believes Adhamo at heart is a 1 1/4-mile horse.

“He’s set up for a good forward move in his second start for me. I was proud of the run he made at Fair Grounds, but I want him to get better position,” said Brown.

Adhamo gets a jockey change to Flavien Prat, but even if the horse shows better tactical speed, he’ll be nowhere near Tribhuvan, a dangerous front-runner. Tribhuvan tailed off after winning the Grade 1 United Nations on July 17, but Tribhuvan, gelded before his 2021 campaign, started last season with a bang. He led wire to wire going 1 1/8 miles in the Fort Marcy in April and set a strong pace, holding second behind Domestic Spending, in the Grade 1, $750,000 Manhattan Stakes.

“That horse is ready to go. He seems similar to how he was last year. He runs good fresh. He’s moving great,” Brown said.

:: Want to start playing with a $510 bankroll and have access to free Formulator? Learn more

Tribhuvan has proven wet-turf form that could come in handy with heavy late-week rain forecast.

The Turf Classic is not just a Brown-out. Turf Classic runner Shirl’s Speight nipped the Brown-trained Masen in the Maker’s Mark and brings sparkling form to Churchill. Charles Fipke’s 5-year-old homebred, Shirl’s Speight turned heads two summers ago winning his career debut, a seven-furlong Woodbine maiden turf race, by eight lengths. But his form declined, and when Shirl’s Speight got back racing over the winter, he’d missed the better part of a year. The horse has raised his performance level the last two starts after his rider began holding him well off the pace and making one blistering late run. In the Maker’s Mark, Shirl’s Speight ran his final quarter mile in 21.83 seconds.

“He came out of that race amazingly well, which prompted me to keep him in Kentucky,” said trainer Roger Attfield.

Shirl’s Speight never has raced beyond 1 1/16 miles, and in some ways looks like a prototypical miler.

“I feel that he’s capable of running a mile and an eighth, especially off the way he galloped out his last race. It’s kind of an experiment,” said Attfield.

Ivar scratched from the Maker’s Mark to give him more time to prepare for his first start since a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He was sixth in the 2021 Turf Classic, his lone 1 1/8-mile race.

“He looks better than when he came back last year at the same time,” trainer Paulo Lobo said.

The 1 1/8-mile trip suits 4-year-old Santin, who has raced only five times. In November, making his stakes debut in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby, Santin finished second by a neck despite breaking from post 14, beaten only by Beyond Brilliant, who last Saturday won the Whittingham Stakes. Santin ran well finishing fourth in the Fair Grounds Stakes and second in the paceless Muniz Memorial, and trainer Brendan Walsh, trying to cure his horse’s habit of coming off the bridle at key moments, tries Santin in blinkers for the first time.

“He lacks a little focus. I did work him in them a few times … and he worked good in them,” said Walsh.

Mira Mission and Cavalry Charge won graded turf stakes earlier this year but are in deep Saturday, with Bizzee Channel even more so.