Sistercharlie leads Brown's 1-2-3 Beverly D. sweep

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – It wasn’t the first time Chad Brown sent out the first three finishers in a Grade 1 turf race for fillies and mares – and it probably won’t be the last.

Flaunting the incredible depth of his award-winning stable, Brown was on hand Saturday at Arlington Park from his New York base to sweep the Beverly D. trifecta after saddling four of the nine starters for the Grade 1, $600,000 race. Adding to the remarkable nature of the feat was that the victory marked a fourth in a row in the Beverly D. for Brown, and a record fifth overall from 29 runnings.

Sistercharlie, given an ideal off-the-pace trip by John Velazquez in the 1 3/16-mile race, roared to command in midstretch before holding off a belated run from Fourstar Crook by a half-length, with the 47-1 front-runner, Thais, holding third, another 1 1/4 lengths back. In fact, only an inside rush by Daddys Lil Darling, trained by Kenny McPeek, prevented Brown runners from comprising the entire superfecta, as Inflexibility was nailed on the wire for fourth.

“We came in very confident,” Brown said. “Johnny gave Sistercharlie a perfect ride. We’re very happy with the results.”

Sistercharlie, an Irish-bred 4-year-old, returned $5.20 as the favorite after finishing in 1:56.77 over a course rated firm. From five North American starts since being imported to the U.S. by owner Peter Brant, the filly now has three wins and two narrow defeats. She also was 3 for 5 to start her racing career in France.

“She’s very consistent,” Brown said. “She’s the type of filly any trainer would love to have in their barn.”

Brown, 39, was the Eclipse Award-winning trainer the last two years, with filly-mare turf runners being a particular strength. It was the third time in a little more than a year that he has swept the top three spots in a Grade 1 race in the division, following the Belmont Oaks in July 2017 and the Jenny Wiley in April at Keeneland.

In the Beverly D. aftermath, Brown invoked the memory of his former boss, the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who relished summer trips to Chicago from his Southern California base and was a two-time winner of the Beverly D.

“He loved this race,” Brown said. “With everything he taught me, to come here and have success in this race is very special.”

Fourstar Crook, a 6-year-old New York-bred who in June defeated Sistercharlie by a head in the New York Stakes at Belmont, was valiant in defeat under Irad Ortiz Jr., essentially following the path of her stablemate as both surged toward the front.

“She’s a rock-solid consistent horse as well,” Brown said. “When they run against each other, neither of them deserves to lose – that’s the bad part. But both of them deserve to be in a race like this, and that’s why we run them (against each other).”

The Beverly D. is a Win and You’re In toward the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, which Brown has won three of the last six years. The Filly-Mare Turf will be run at 1 3/8 miles at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.

Brown’s prior winners in the Beverly D. were Stacelita (2011), Watsdachances (2015), Sea Calisi (2016), and Dacita (2017).

For Velazquez, who had missed the three previous days of racing at Saratoga with an ankle injury, the Beverly D. directly followed his 38-1 upset aboard Carrick in the Grade 1 Secretariat on the 12-race Saturday card. This was the first Beverly D. triumph of his Hall of Fame career.

The $2 exacta (3-7) paid $17.80, the $1 trifecta (3-7-5) returned $198.90, and the 10-cent superfecta (3-7-5-1) was worth $97.87.

Rounding out the order after the top five were Nyaleti, Athena, Oh So Terrible, and Dona Bruja. Clearly the disappointment of the race was Dona Bruja, the 5-1 third choice who trailed for most of the way under Jose Valdivia Jr. and did not kick on.