Royal Charlotte rebounds to take Prioress

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Royal Charlotte did so little running in the Grade 1 Test Stakes here last month without excuse that trainer Chad Brown hadn’t really planned to run her back in Saturday’s Prioress Stakes at Saratoga.

The more he thought about it, however, Brown deduced that perhaps the track had played a role in Royal Charlotte’s non-effort in the Test. Early in the meet, Brown felt Saratoga’s main track was loose and demanding and perhaps Royal Charlotte just didn’t like it as she was beaten 20 3/4 lengths by Covfefe in the Test. It was her first loss in five starts.

In recent weeks, however, Brown felt the track was tightening up and his horses were “getting over it a little better” in both the morning and afternoon, he said.

“I thought, for this particular horse, why not give her another shot over a track that’s playing totally different?” Brown said.

Brown’s theory bore fruit as Royal Charlotte rebounded from her failed Test effort to run by 3-5 favorite Break Even in the lane and win Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Prioress Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths. Break Even, who suffered her first defeat in seven career starts, finished second by 2 1/2 lengths over Risky Mandate. Break Curfew and Kept True completed the order of finish. South of France scratched.

“I’m very relieved, not only to win the race but more so that [the Test] was an anomaly,” Brown said. “We always thought that she’s a very nice filly and she proved today that she is.”

Javier Castellano, who rode Royal Charlotte, was also relieved. He had taken off Covfefe to stick with Royal Charlotte in the Test.

Castellano also wasn’t sure what went wrong that day, he’s just happy things worked out better Saturday.

As expected Break Even, under Shaun Bridgmohan, went out to the front, and she opened up a 1 1/2 length lead after running a quarter in 21.87 seconds. Break Even had still had a length advantage after a half-mile in 44.76 seconds. Bridgmohan waited until the eighth pole to ask his filly to finish, but Castellano, who had Royal Charlotte in between horses and right behind Break Even, got his filly in the clear and she was able to run by Break Even inside the sixteenth pole.

Royal Charlotte, a daughter of Cairo Prince, owned by First Row Partners and Parkland Thoroughbreds, covered the six furlongs in 1:09.45 and returned $11 as the 9-2 third choice.

“I wanted to ride with a lot of patience and keep track of the target, my target was Break Even,” Castellano said. “I just followed her every step of the way and just run her down.”

Castellano said the Test result “hurt a lot because I got off the winner, Covfefe, to ride her and she didn’t show up. She showed up and I know this is a good filly.”

Bridgmohan said Break Even did not get away “as smoothly as I’d like her to be; when she got going she really got a little bit into the bridle.”

Brown said he may look to run Royal Charlotte next in the Grade 2, $250,000 Raven Run on Oct. 19 at Keeneland.