Flintshire, Lady Eli among dozen Brown pre-entrants

ELMONT, N.Y. – Led by top turf runners Flintshire and Lady Eli and dual Grade 1 dirt winner Practical Joke, trainer Chad Brown said he pre-entered 12 horses on Monday for the Breeders’ Cup races Nov. 4-5 at Santa Anita.

If all 12 get to run, it will equal the number of starters Brown had last year, when he won the Filly and Mare Sprint with Wavell Avenue and the Filly and Mare Turf with Stephanie’s Kitten. Wavell Avenue is among Brown’s pre-entrants this year in the Filly and Mare Sprint.

Most of the focus of Brown’s contingent will be on Flintshire and Lady Eli, who will be top contenders in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and Filly and Mare Turf, respectively. On Monday at Belmont Park, they put in their penultimate workouts for those races, each working in company with a stablemate also pointing to the Breeders’ Cup.

Flintshire, a multiple Grade 1 winner coming off a loss in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, went five furlongs in 1:01.91 over a “good” course. Flintshire, under regular jockey Javier Castellano, worked in company with Money Multiplier, the last-place finisher in the Joe Hirsch who is also pointing to the BC Turf. The pair came home in 23.49 seconds and galloped out seven furlongs in 1:27.83.

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“They’re good for each other,” Brown said. “Money Multiplier’s earned everybody’s respect. Going into the last race, as worried as I was about running Flintshire on soft ground, I was virtually certain Money Multiplier wasn’t going to handle it. He’s a totally different animal on firm ground.”

Regarding Flintshire’s work, Brown said, “Javier was thrilled with the work, and so was I.”

Lady Eli, the winner of the 2014 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita, worked a half-mile in 50.40 seconds in company with Sea Calisi, the Beverly D. winner who is also pointing to the Filly and Mare Turf. They got their last quarter in 23.91 seconds together.

Brown believes both Lady Eli and Sea Calisi have moved forward off their first- and third-place finishes in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl at Belmont on Oct. 8. Sea Calisi had eight weeks between the Beverly D. and the Flower Bowl.

“That gap was just about two weeks longer than I wanted,” said Brown, who has won the Filly and Mare turf three times, including the last two runnings. “She’s really moved forward off that race. Both fillies I was extremely happy with this morning.”

Brown has won seven Breeders’ Cup races, including the Juvenile Fillies Turf twice. This year, he pre-entered New Money Honey and Rymska in that race. On Monday, Rymska worked a half-mile in 51.10 seconds on turf in company with Fourstar Crook, a New York-bred 4-year-old filly who has won six consecutive races.

“That filly’s been improving by the day,” Brown said of Rymska. “I know the time wasn’t real fast today, but, man, she worked well. She’s a horse that’s getting good at the right time.”

Brown said he pre-entered New Money Honey, the winner of the Grade 3 Miss Grillo on turf, in both the Juvenile Fillies Turf and the Juvenile Fillies on dirt and is uncertain which race he will pick for her.

“I have that feeling she can run on both,” Brown said. “I’ve always felt that.”

Brown also said Monday that while he pre-entered Champagne Stakes winner Practical Joke in the Juvenile, he pre-entered Champagne third-place finisher Favorable Outcome in only the Juvenile Turf. Brown said he would work Favorable Outcome on grass this weekend before deciding whether to run him.

Brown’s other Breeders’ Cup pre-entrants are Irish Jasper (Filly and Mare Sprint), A Lot (Turf Sprint), and Ticonderoga (Juvenile Turf).