Saffron Moon possible for Modesty

OLDSMAR, Fla. - While Brown came up a bit short in the Tampa Bay Derby, he won two turf stakes on the card with Saffron Moon taking the Grade 2 Hillsborough for fillies and mares and Zulu Kingdom in the listed Columbia Stakes for 3-year-old males.

Saffron Moon won the Hillsborough by three-quarters of a length over Gimme a Nother, her second straight stakes win over the Tampa Bay course this winter. Saffron Moon earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure for both wins.

Brown said a race like the Grade 1 New York Stakes at Saratoga on June 6 is a main target for Saffron Moon. He would likely consider the Grade 3, $400,000 Modesty at Churchill on May 2 as a way to get there.

Zulu Kingdom came off a four-month layoff to win the Columbia by a neck over Reagan’s Wit. It was his third stakes win by the same margin. Zulu Kingdom will likely be considered for either the Grade 3, $600,000 Transylvania Stakes on April 4 or the Grade 1, $1 million American Turf at Churchill Downs on May 3.

Brown said he prefers the mile distance for Zulu Kingdom, which makes a race like the Grade 3, $400,000 Penn Mile at Penn National on May 30 as a race on his agenda.

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