Brown's three Riskaverse entrants all figure

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown’s depth in the 3-year-old fillies turf division will be on full display at Saratoga on Thursday when he sends out not just one but perhaps the three horses to beat in the $120,000 Riskaverse. The stakes will be decided at a mile over the inner turf and is for fillies who have never won a stakes at a mile or over.

Brown’s potent trio includes the lightly raced but highly regarded Rastafara along with Minaun and Amy C, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively, behind stablemate Technical Analysis in the Grade 3 Lake George earlier in the session. Technical Analysis flattered that race when returning to capture the Grade 2 Lake Placid in easy fashion on Saturday.

Brown’s trio will face eight rivals in the Riskaverse, a group that includes Keeper of Time, a Group 3 winner in Europe making her U.S. debut for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Minaun was hung wide on both turns when beaten 3 1/2 lengths by Technical Analysis in the one-mile Lake George. Like Keeper of Time, she too was a Group 3 winner in Ireland before joining Brown’s stable earlier this year. The Lake George was the first time she had finished worse than second in five career starts.

Amy C finished a nose back of Minaun when having a modest two-race winning streak snapped in the Lake George. She had registered a last-to-first allowance victory at a mile and one-sixteenth making her U.S. debut four weeks earlier at Belmont Park.

“I think it’s a pretty nice group I have for the Riskaverse,” said Brown. “Minaun and Amy C have more experience than Rastafara, but all are nice fillies with a bright future and this is a spot that fits them all.

“I thought that I might have run both Minaun and Amy C back a little too soon in the Lake George, they really weren’t recovered from their previous starts. But now I feel they are fresher from the way they’ve been training and I believe they are going to move forward off their last races.”

Brown has always been high on Rastafara, who did not begin her career until January of her 3-year-old campaign, finishing second, beaten a nose, debuting last winter at Tampa Bay Downs. She won her maiden in her third start here on July 24 when rallying to a length victory over Ego Trip, who came out of that race to finish third in the Lake Placid.

“We identified Rastafara pretty early as one having above-average ability,” said Brown. “Unfortunately she had little things come up that kept her from running at 2 and also missed a few things earlier this year.

“The bottom line is she lacks experience but finally had her breakthrough race breaking her maiden against a very good field, and I think we finally have her where we need her to really start advancing her career to where we thought it could be when she was younger.”

The Irish-bred Keeper of Time has not started since upsetting Group 3 competition going seven furlongs at odds of 80-1 at Leopardstown on April 11. She has had five works locally, the last four over the Oklahoma turf course, prepping for her U.S. bow.

Love and Money is the least experienced member of the Riskaverse lineup with only two races, but she projects to have things her own way on the front end and could stand some catching if able to move forward off her fourth-place finish behind last-to-first winner Third Draft when stretching to a mile for the first time.

Third Draft is also signed up for the Riskaverse along with the consistent Magisterium and stakes placed Hit the Woah.