Brown primed to win another Miss Grillo

ELMONT, N.Y. – There were some very impressive 2-year-old turf fillies who won at first asking this summer at Saratoga, and it seems all of them have gathered for a meeting in Sunday’s Grade 2, $150,000 Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont Park.

While betting on Chad Brown-trained runners in the Miss Grillo has become a recipe for success –he’s won seven of the last eight runnings of this race – his pair of Freedomofthepress and Editor at Large will have plenty of competition.

Among their main rivals is Plum Ali, a daughter of First Samurai who won her debut going 1 1/16 miles on July 23 at Saratoga. Trainer Christophe Clement was pointing her to the P.G. Johnson Stakes on Sept. 3, but when that race was rained off the turf, Clement shipped her to Kentucky Downs for the $500,000 Mint Juvenile Fillies Stakes, which she won by 2 3/4 lengths in style.

In that race, Plum Ali was about to assume the lead on her own power when jockey Tyler Gaffalione gave her one smack of his right-handed whip and she took off and drew clear.

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“Her two races have been spectacular,” Clement said. “She came from off the pace in both races. The question with 2-year-olds is you keep going and meet better horses, so where is your limit? I need to find out.”

Jose Ortiz rides Plum Ali from post 8.

Among Chad Brown’s eight winners of the Miss Grillo were Newspaperofrecord, New Money Honey, Lady Eli, and Maram, all of whom went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Editor At Large, an Irish-bred daughter of Lope de Vega, won her debut by a half-length over Domain Expertise, a Brown trainee who was entered in Saturday’s Selima Stakes at Pimlico. Editor At Large broke well, settled into mid-pack, and came with a three- to four-wide run to get the victory. Her time was significantly slower than the other division of that race, won by Miss Grillo entrant Lovestruck, who beat Freedomofthepress.

“Editor At Large, I thought, showed a lot of professionalism to get the job done first time out and finished up and beat another one of our horses that we like,” Brown said.

Freedomofthepress will try to follow New Money Honey and Selflessly, who were maidens when they won the Miss Grillo.

“I thought she ran a really good race in the faster of the two divisions,” Brown said. “It was debatable she should have got put up. We’re treating it like a win and we’ll run her in a stake, and if she doesn’t run well I’ll regroup in a maiden race later on.”

Lovestruck cut in front of another horse on her way to victory over Freedomofthepress at Saratoga, but the stewards did not disqualify her from the victory. Lovestruck was much the best in that race, and if she can maintain a straight and steady course on Sunday, she could be the one to beat for trainer Bill Mott.

Caldee was a 6 3/4-length maiden winner at Saratoga for trainer Brad Cox in her turf debut. Director’s Cut was purchased privately by Gary Barber following a second-place finish for Tim Hamm and WinStar Farm in the Sharp Susan Stakes at Gulfstream. She is now trained by Mark Casse.

Batyah won a one-mile debut maiden race here on Sept. 19 for trainer Graham Motion.