Raging Bull by a nose in Hall of Fame Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Chad Brown is in the midst of carving out a career that may ultimately land him in Thoroughbred racing’s Hall of Fame.

For now, though, he’ll have to settle for his annual pilgrimage to the Saratoga winner’s circle following the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes, run on the day of the induction ceremony that immortalizes racing’s greats.

Friday, Raging Bull came with a furious stretch run under Joel Rosario to nose out Maraud in the Grade 2, $200,000 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Stakes over a soggy Saratoga turf course. It was the fourth straight year and fifth time overall Brown has won this race for 3-year-olds.

“How many of these do you have to win to get in?” Brown joked afterward.

A trainer has to have been licensed for 25 years and Brown still has about 15 years to go to be eligible.

Watching the Hall of Fame Stakes unfold, with Raging Bull seventh and about 10 lengths behind the pace-setting Gidu, Brown certainly didn’t think he was going to win another Hall of Fame Stakes.

“He didn’t look comfortable anywhere in the race until maybe the three-eighths pole when he started to pick up horses, quite concerning,” Brown said. “I was thinking it was the ground, maybe I should have scratched the horse and run in the Secretariat.”

Brown was referring to the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes for 3-year-olds run on Aug. 11 at Arlington Park.

When Rosario swung Raging Bull out five and then six paths wide in the stretch, the 3-year-old son of Dark Angel started to roll and he showed a dynamic turn of foot to nail Maraud, who had taken over from stablemate Gidu, on the wire.

It was 1 1/4 lengths to Ride a Comet in third. He was followed, in order, by Gidu, Combatant, Have At It, Westerland, Gunnison, and Gemonteer. Sand Dancer and Battle At Sea were scratched.

“Joel said once he got him in the clear the ground was a little better on the outside, and he finally hit his stride and started to make his move,” Brown said. “I didn’t think this horse was going to win until all the way to the wire. Remarkable turn of foot.”

Raging Bull, who is owned by Peter Brant, covered the 1 1/16 miles over yielding turf in 1:43.69. He returned $7.30 as the favorite.

“It seemed like he was not handling the turf really good on the backside,” Rosario said. “I tried to be in the clear when I wanted to run, I didn’t want anybody to be in my way because he takes a lot of time to get into his stride.”

Irad Ortiz Jr., the rider of Maraud, said his horse switched back to his left lead in the stretch.

“He lost his momentum for a second,” Ortiz said. “He tried to come back, he was fighting, he didn’t want to let that other horse by him.”