Brown's patience paying off with stakes-bound Payne

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – In 2018, trainer Chad Brown won the Grade 1 Cigar Mile with Patternrecognition, a 5-year-old horse who he always held in high regard but who took a while to reach his maximum potential.

Brown hopes he has another version of Patternrecognition in Payne, a 5-year-old son of Paynter and a half-brother to seven-time stakes winner Vertical Oak. Payne won a third-level allowance last Friday at Aqueduct by 9 3/4 lengths.

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Payne will likely make his next start in the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester Stakes at Belmont Park on May 2.

“The Westchester makes a lot of sense,” Brown said Sunday. “He’s a horse that benefits from getting spacing between his races.”

Payne’s victory Friday was his third straight allowance or optional-claiming score, a streak that began last Nov. 2. Payne’s last loss was a second-place finish to Performer in an allowance race. Performer has won four straight races, including the Grade 3 Discovery here last fall.

“He reminds me a lot of Patternrecognition,” Brown said of Payne. “We got him out in distance a little, like Pattern, and he developed physically and he found fields he could beat and got his confidence up.”

Payne, owned by William Warren, earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure for his victory last week.

On Sunday, Brown sent out a good-looking New York-bred 3-year-old in Gandy Dancing, who scored a 6 3/4-length victory in his debut. He ran six furlongs in 1:13.22 and earned a 72 Beyer Speed Figure.

Gandy Dancing is a son of Flatter who was purchased as a yearling at the 2018 Saratoga preferred auction for $210,000. He is owned by Allen Wise.