Danse Macabre ($26.80) an upset winner in Herecomesthebride

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Chad Brown won two of the three Grade 3 turf stakes for female runners Saturday at Gulfstream Park, but neither was exactly what the public expected. And the third result was outside the proverbial box altogether.

All three were run over a firm turf as part of the 14-race, nine-stakes extravaganza capped by the Fountain of Youth Stakes.

Honey Fox

Brown won this one when Faith in Humanity, the third choice in a field of 11 fillies and mares, led throughout the one-mile Honey Fox under Joel Rosario. Faith of Humanity paid $12 as her more highly regarded stablemate, Speak of the Devil, flattened out in the final furlong to finish fifth as the 8-5 favorite.

Faith of Humanity was given an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.

The $150,000 Honey Fox marked the 4-year-old debut of Faith in Humanity, a bay French-bred owned by the Klaravich Stables of Seth Klarman. The daughter of Lope de Vega was making her first start since she won the Grade 3 Pebbles in September over the Aqueduct turf.

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“I thought maybe I was one work short with her,” Brown said. “But she really dug in. We’re proud of her.”

White Frost, the 2-1 second choice, came flying late but was a neck shy on the wire. Then came Princess Theorem, Fast as Flight, and Speak of the Devil.

Brown said the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley on April 15 at Keeneland “is the logical next step because of the timing and everything” for Faith in Humanity.

Herecomesthebride

One of the surprises of the day came when Danse Macabre, ridden by Adam Beschizza, fought off all challengers after stalking the pace in the $200,000 Herecomesthebride, edging Papilio by a head as 7-10 favorite Cairo Consort was too late to reach the top pair when settling for third, just another nose behind.

Danse Macabre returned $26.80 after finishing a mile in 1:37.27 and getting an 84 Beyer Speed Figure. A field of 10 3-year-old fillies started.

“She’s got a lot of heart,” a grinning Kelsey Danner said of Danse Macabre, an Army Mule filly she trains for NBS Stable and Elements Racing. “Numbers-wise, I actually thought she fit in here really well. She’s a fast filly.”

Danse Macabre had never raced beyond 6 1/2 furlongs in five prior starts, all at 2, so Danner had intended to turn her back in a turf-sprint stakes at Keeneland or Churchill Downs following this. “But now I don’t know after she handled the mile so well,” she said. “Nice problem to have.”

The Herecomesthebride was the opening leg of a Rainbow 6 sequence (races 9-14) that drew more than $700,000 in new bets chasing a $1.2 million carryover. A forceout of the Rainbow 6 is set for Sunday.

The Very One

Brown went 1-2-4 with his three runners in the $150,000 The Very One, with the longest priced of those, Mylady ($19.60), getting first run on the other two in posting her first North American victory.

“Chad said in the paddock that it’s a three-turn race, and I’ll give you one to be wide on,” said Edgard Zayas, who opted to making a looping outside run aboard Mylady in the final turn after lagging toward the back of the pack most of the way. “I was very happy it worked out.”

Higher Truth moved boldly to challenge her stablemate leaving the eighth pole before finishing three-quarters of a length back in second in a field of 10. It was just a neck back to Transient in third, while the Brown-trained Virginia Joy, the 2022 winner and 9-5 favorite in this renewal, was another half-length back in fourth after having some traffic trouble. The winning time for 1 3/8 miles was 2:15.14.

Mylady received a 95 Beyer Speed Figure.

Michaela Faust of Germany is the owner of Mylady, a 4-year-old gray bred in Germany. The only prior start on this continent for Mylady resulted in a sixth-place finish last fall in the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor.

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