A Raving Beauty rolls to first U.S. victory in Beaugay

Just when it seems the number of graded stakes-winning turf horses in the barn of trainer Chad Brown cannot possibly grow any larger, a newcomer to his stable shines yet again. The latest occurrence took place Saturday in the Grade 3, $200,000 Beaugay Stakes at Belmont Park when German-bred A Raving Beauty scored stylishly in her U.S. bow.

In addition to the winner, Brown trained the runner-up, favored Inflexibility, who outkicked third-place finisher Lido by a neck.

The Beaugay, at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, was still just a one-mare affair once the field turned into the stretch. It was at the point that A Raving Beauty, who had stalked Team of Teams through splits of 25.62 seconds, 49.87, and 1:12.97, was given the green light by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr.

Although Team of Teams seemed to be moving comfortably on the lead, she could not contain A Raving Beauty once that one was cut loose. A Raving Beauty seemed to break the spirit of her front-running rival as she flew past Team of Teams in the stretch, drawing away to win by three lengths.

“She's been training extremely well, and was a lot more forwardly placed than I anticipated,” said Brown. “I thought Irad did a really good job to cover up. He had a choice there at the first eighth to maybe put her outside the other speed horse to see if he could settle her that way, or cover up, but I think if he chose to put her outside she might have run off, so I think he really won the race by choosing to cover up.”

A 5-year-old daughter of Mastercraftsman owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Bethlehem Stables, she completed 1 1/16 miles on a rain-softened course Equibase rated as “good” in 1:41.64. She paid $7.70 and received a 98 Beyer Speed Figure.

Team of Teams yielded in the final furlong to finish fourth, and was followed across the wire by Tricky Escape, My Impression, and Broken Bridle.

The Beaugay was the biggest victory of A Raving Beauty’s career, though she came to the U.S. with some quality overseas credentials. A well-traveled mare, who raced 10 times in Germany, France, and Italy last year, she closed out her 2017 campaign in Europe with a runner-up finish in the Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio in Italy on Oct. 29 and had not raced after that start until the Beaugay.