In Italian likely for First Lady Stakes after brief rest
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The quartet of horses who finished 1-2-3-4 for trainer Chad Brown in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Diana Stakes at Saratoga could very well go their different ways for their next starts, Brown said Sunday morning.
In Italian, who gave Brown his seventh victory in the Diana, will likely get a brief freshening and point to the Grade 1, $600,000 First Lady Stakes going a mile on Oct. 8 at Keeneland, Brown said. Brown didn’t completely rule out running her back in the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa here on Aug. 27, but noted that In Italian has been in serious training for an extended period of time. The Diana was In Italian’s fifth start of the year, her first being an allowance win at Tampa Bay Downs in January.
The Diana was certainly In Italian’s best race as she displayed strong early speed and carried it 1 1/8 miles. Her final time of 1:45.06 was a Mellon Turf course record for the distance.
“I don’t think anyone was going to catch In Italian in any scenario yesterday no matter who it was - not even Regal Glory for that matter,” Brown said, referring to the 6-year-old mare he has in his barn who has won two Grade 1 stakes this year. “It was her day and she certainly stepped up and delivered.”
In Italian earned a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure for her performance.
Technical Analysis tried In Italian in midstretch and was repelled. Beaten 1 1/2 lengths by In Italian,Technical Analysis finished that same margin ahead of Bleecker Street, who got third by a neck over Rougir.
“What a race In Italian ran and the runner-up gave a really good effort, too,” Brown said.
Technical Analysis’s record at Saratoga - she won two stakes at Saratoga last summer - makes her a logical candidate for the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa going 1 1/16 miles here on Aug. 27.
Plans for Bleecker Street and Rougir are less defined. Bleecker Street has run six times this year and suffered her first career defeat when third in the Diana. Brown said he may wait for the fall to run her back.
“The only bittersweet thing of the day is her undefeated record was ended, but she still tried to close up some ground and was good enough to get up for third, which I’m proud of,” Brown said.
Brown said Rougir’s fourth-place finish only served to confirm what he had previously thought, which is she prefers soft ground. Brown said he may keep the Grade 1, $500,000 Beverly D. at Churchill Downs on Aug. 13 as a target for Rougir and run her there if it rains.
Brown doesn’t like the Grade 2, $600,000 Flower Bowl at 1 3/8 miles for any of his for Diana horses because he doesn’t want to run them around three turns. Brown said he prefers the Flower Bowl being run at 1 1/4 miles at Belmont Park, where it had been an autumn staple for decades.
Brown will likely run Higher Truth and Virginia Joy in the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls on Aug. 6 and perhaps one of those two females will move on to the Flower Bowl. Higher Truth, a second-level allowance winner at Belmont on July 3, worked a half-mile in 50.28 seconds Sunday morning over the Oklahoma turf course.
Virginia Joy, the 14 1/4-length winner of the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay at Belmont on May 7 and fourth, a length behind Bleecker Street, in the Grade 1 New York on June 10, worked five furlongs Sunday morning in 1:01.89 over the Oklahoma turf in company with Regal Glory. The latter is pointing to the Grade 1 Fourstardave against males on Aug. 13.
The Diana was one of four wins on Saturday’s card for Brown. One of those wins was by Credit Event, who beat fellow 3-year-olds in a first-level allowance race going 1 1/8 miles. Brown said he would consider the Grade 1, $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational for Credit Event depending on the degree of difficulty of the race.
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“If it comes up really tough, I wouldn’t throw him to the wolves and do that, but the distance of the race and the fact he can run against only 3-year-olds - those two things make sense,” Brown said.
The most glaring disappointment on Saturday for Brown was the fifth-place finish by Reinvestment Risk as the 1-2 favorite in a second-level allowance race. Reinvestment Risk had been second in a pair of Grade 1 stakes in his two most recent starts prior to Saturday.
“He’s going to take a further evaluation, something’s not quite right with that horse,” Brown said. “Nothing obvious, but we’re definitely going to take a big step backwards with him. That was so unlike him, he’s been a model of consistency throughout his career.”