Dacita closes with furious rally to win Ballston Spa

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Javier Castellano was doling out heartbreaks left and right Saturday at Saratoga. One race after piloting Keen Ice to an upset win over the Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Travers Stakes, he swung Dacita seven wide in the lane on the turf, unleashing a furious rally to best Tepin by a head in the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa Stakes.

It was the U.S. debut and first start of 2015 for Dacita, a multiple Group 1 winner in her native Chile. She affirmed her class by defeating a Grade 1 winner in Tepin, who suffered her second tough beat of the Saratoga meet. Last month, Tepin was second by a nose to Hard Not to Like, who established a course record in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes.

Dacita came to trainer Chad Brown's barn about three months ago after client Peter Bradley discovered and purchased the filly. Bradley now owns her in partnership with Sheep Pond Partners.

"[Bradley] finds a lot of nice horses for us all over the world," Brown said. "He really liked this filly, so he made the move to buy her. … She's not real flashy in the mornings, so it was hard to predict how she'd run. But going on her form, it certainly looked like she fit in the race. As you can see, she's a real racehorse in the afternoon."

Dacita raced in eighth in the nine-horse field early as Kitten's Queen – one of three in the race for Brown – took the field through honest opening splits while mostly unchallenged. Tepin, who was patiently handled after breaking from the inside, settled in second early, tipped out three wide to target the leader turning for home, and forged her way to the lead in upper stretch. Tepin momentarily appeared home free, but suddenly, Dacita, who still was seventh in the stretch – arrived on the scene, flying down a clear path on the outside for the victory.

The filly stopped the clock in 1:39.67 for 1 1/16 miles on Saratoga's inner turf. The Ballston Spa capped a three-win day for Castellano, who won his fifth Travers. Brown said he fits Dacita well.

"She's been a little difficult to figure out in the mornings," Brown said. "She's been a good-looking filly and came in to me in good shape and has been just kind of steady in her works. I figured she would need a race, and it looked like a good spot to get her started – distance, timing, [running] her on the turf. I thought Javier would fit her, and thankfully, [it all worked out]."

After Dacita and Tepin, it was officially three-quarters of a length back to My Miss Sophia, who slipped up the hedge and just nipped Kitten's Queen for third. Brown's third entrant, Danza Cavallo, was eighth.

Dacita now has won 7 of 10 career starts, with only one unplaced outing. Brown said the filly will target the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes on Oct. 3 at Belmont Park for her next outing.