Brown's cannon fully loaded for Belmont meet

ELMONT, N.Y. – Chad Brown will be well armed when Belmont Park kicks off its spring-summer meet on June 3.

After having many races in which he was looking to run taken away when Keeneland canceled its spring meet and with Churchill Downs delaying many of its major stakes to September due to the coronavirus pandemic, Brown will have many of his stars make their seasonal debuts at Belmont.

Rushing Fall, the four-time Grade 1 stakes winner will be pointed to the Grade 3, $100,000 Beaugay on opening day of the 25-day meet. Rushing Fall has not run since finishing fourth in the Grade 1 First Lady last October at Keeneland. She shipped from Florida to Belmont Park on Sunday and on Thursday she worked a half-mile in 49.40 seconds over Belmont’s main track.

“She’s really doing super,” Brown said Friday at his Belmont office.

Brown also is looking at the Beaugay with the New York-bred Fifty Five, an eight-time stakes winner. Brown said he also may run a third horse in the Beaugay.

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Newspaperofrecord, unraced since last July, could make her return in the Grade 3, $100,000 Intercontinental Stakes on June 6. The Intercontinental, at seven furlongs on turf, also is a possible spot for four-time stakes winner Regal Glory and Significant Form, who won last year’s Intercontinental.

Two of Brown’s top female turf stars are not quite ready to run. Sistercharlie, the female turf champion of 2018, could train up to the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga as she did last year. Uni, the female turf champion of 2019 following her victory in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, could make her seasonal debut in the Grade 1 Just a Game on June 27 at Belmont.

“Uni had a small splint injury, but she should be breezing soon,” Brown said. “We can still make that race.”

Brown will have a select group from which to choose for the Grade 2, $150,000 Fort Marcy on June 6, including Digital Age, Instilled Regard, Flop Shot, Devamani, and Olympico.

Brown said he plans to run Network Effect, recent two-length winner of the Big Drama Stakes for Florida-breds at Gulfstream, in the Grade 1 Carter and Payne, a 9 3/4-length winner of a one-mile allowance at Aqueduct on March 13 in the Grade 3, $100,000 Westchester. The Carter, at seven furlongs, and Westchester at 1 1/16 miles, are both scheduled for June 6.

Brown, at Belmont Friday morning for the first time all year, said he is just happy that New York is about to be up and running again after being shut down for more than two months.

“It’s been frustrating I’m sure for everybody,” Brown said. “We’re anxious to get started, get some of these horses running, and bring in some prize money for all of our clients that have been paying so many bills with very little racing opportunities. My main focus right now is just that – putting my clients in position to recover some of their expenses.”