Lady Eli's recovery another reason for Brown to smile
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. _ As good a Saratoga meet as trainer Chad Brown is having _ and each day seems better than the previous one _ his moment of the summer may have come Sunday morning as he watched Lady Eli put in a workout over the Oklahoma turf course.
Lady Eli breezed five furlongs in 1:00.25 in company with Beverly D contender Sea Calisi. Lady Eli, with exercise rider Walter Melasquez maintaining a hold of the reins, got her final quarter in 23.61 seconds. Lady Eli and Sea Calisi galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.29 and seven eighths in 1:28.14.
Lady Eli, who 13 months ago was in a fight for her life due to a case of laminitis, is on course to run in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga on Aug. 27.
“Lady Eli is made of steel really, when you think about it,” Brown said. “I’m a fan of hers, along with being her trainer. It’s great to see her go out there and to me be back on top in her works. I don’t know that I ever saw her work that well as I just saw and it’s very rewarding for the large team of people that worked with this horse to get her to where she is today.”
Lady Eli, undefeated in six starts, has now had six breezes on turf since July 3. On Sunday, Jay Hanley, who heads up Sheep Pond Partners, which owns Lady Eli, watched the filly breeze for the first time since her comeback.
Asked what was going through his mind as he watched Lady Eli come through the lane on the Oklahoma turf course, Hanley said, “Just be okay, the only thing that matters with this filly is just stay healthy, for me honestly,” Hanley said. “There’s a big debate in my head should we even try to run this filly again, and I’m assuming the public wants to know the same thing. She’s such a talent and she’s shown absolutely no ill effects. If there’s the slightest hiccup we would back way off. I almost feel like the public deserves the chance to see this filly race again.”
Sea Calisi, meanwhile, is headed to the Beverly D. She is coming out of a troubled second-place finish in between stablemates Dacita and Guapaza in the Grade 2 New York Stakes on June 10 at Belmont. Brown will run Sea Calisi in the Beverly D with a pacemaker in the 3-year-old filly Elusive Million. Both horses are owned by Martin Schwartz.
Dacita (Grade 1 Diana) and Guapaza (Grade 3 Waya) are two of Brown’s eight stakes winners and 17 winners overall at the Saratoga meet through the first 14 days.
Six of those stakes wins have come on turf by a combined 2 1/4 lengths. On Saturday, Brown won four races, including the $100,000 Lure with Shining Copper. On Friday, Brown won three races including the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame with Camelot Kitten. Shining Copper and Camelot Kitten won their races by a nose. Guapaza won hers by a head.
“To win you got to have some racing luck along the way, too,” Brown said. “Along with having the best horse in the race we’ve had a lot of good luck this meet so far.”
Brown hopes to transfer his Saratoga success next Saturday to Arlington Park, where he will be a factor in the major stakes on the card.
Brown is scheduled to run Wake Forest and perhaps Takeover Target in the Million. He also pre-entered Big Blue Kitten, runner-up in last year’s Million, but said Sunday that the horse has a foot abscess and is doubtful to make it.
Brown said he would run Takeover Target only if the ground came up soft.
Wake Forest, third in the Grade 1 United Nations after winning the Grade 1 Man o’ War, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.08 over the turf in company with Beach Patrol, who is pointing to the Secretariat Stakes for 3 year-olds.
“I thought he worked terrific, his energy level was good, we’re looking forward to running this horse in the Million,” Brown said.
Looking farther down the road, Brown will have as many as three horses in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 27. Connect and Gift Box, 1-2 in the Curlin Stakes on July 29, are scheduled to return to the worktab this week.
My Man Sam, second in an allowance race July 23, worked a half-mile in 49.62 seconds on Saturday.
“That horse got a lot out of that race, I was extremely pleased with his drill,” Brown said.
Economic Model and the 2-year-old Bobby On Fleek arrived in Saratoga after working a half-mile together in 48.25 seconds Saturday at Belmont Park. Economic Model is pointing to the King’s Bishop, while Bobby On Fleek is pointing to the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes on Aug. 26.