Even without a win in Derby, Brown has monster weekend

ELMONT, N.Y. – Though he didn’t win the Kentucky Derby, finishing fifth with Practical Joke, trainer Chad Brown had a pretty spectacular weekend, winning four graded stakes and finishing second in two others.

On Saturday at Churchill Downs, Brown won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff with Paulassilverlining and the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile with Roca Rojo. He finished second in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic with Beach Patrol.

On Saturday at Belmont Park, Brown won the Grade 3 Westchester with Connect and the Grade 3 Sheepshead Bay with Sea Calisi. He missed a clean sweep of Belmont’s three graded stakes when Time Test was beaten a nose by Smooth Daddy in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy.

Time Test was making his first start in the United States after winning four group-level stakes in Europe. As was the case last year with Flintshire, Juddmonte Farms sent Time Test to the United States in hopes of racing him on firm turf. On Saturday, the Belmont turf course was rated good after Friday rain.

“It was disappointing he gave up the lead late,” Brown said. “He switched leads nearing the wire, which was probably a function of the turf.”

Brown said Time Test came out of the Fort Marcy well and will be pointed to the Grade 1 Manhattan on June 10. Beach Patrol will join Time Test in the Manhattan, Brown said.

Brown was particularly pleased with Connect’s 4 3/4-length victory in the Westchester. Connect was making his first start since he won the Grade 1 Cigar Mile last November at Aqueduct.

“He exceeded my expectations,” Brown said. “He was training really well, but coming off a layoff and running a mile against some really good horses, he was impressive.”

The Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on June 10 will be next for Connect, who earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure for the Westchester victory.

For the second consecutive year, Sea Calisi won the Sheepshead Bay by 2 1/2 lengths. She made a wide, sweeping move past Suffused at the top of the stretch and galloped home an easy winner. She will make her next start in the Grade 2, $500,000 New York on June 9.

Last year, Sea Calisi finished second in the New York to Dacita, who came back to win the Grade 1 Diana for Brown. Dacita and Rainha da Bateria are two of the three horses Brown could run in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Beaugay at Belmont. Brown would prefer to run Dacita on firm turf. Brown also could run Wekeela in the Beaugay.

The Beaugay is one of four graded stakes this Saturday at Belmont. Brown will send out Wake Forest in the Grade 1 Man o’ War, a race he won last year, and Timeline and Take Your Guns in the Grade 3, $200,000 Peter Pan for 3-year-olds.

Brown said he thought Practical Joke had a good trip in the Derby from post 19 and that his fifth-place finish was probably as good as he could achieve, underscoring the belief that he doesn’t want to run 1 1/4 miles.

Brown said Practical Joke would be shortened up in distance and could make his next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Dwyer, a one-turn mile at Belmont on July 8.

Brown will be represented in the Preakness by Cloud Computing, the third-place finisher in the Wood Memorial. Cloud Computing worked a bullet five furlongs in 1:00.20 on Sunday over the Belmont Park training track. He will work again this weekend, also at Belmont, before shipping to Baltimore next week.

Euro mare in Man o’ War

Zhukova, a Group 3-winning mare in Europe, will take on the boys in Saturday’s Grade 1, $400,000 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park.

Zhukova, a 5-year-old mare trained by Dermot Weld, arrived in New York on May 4 and has been cantering over Belmont Park’s main track since Sunday.

Caroline Cashman, a groom who traveled here with Zhukova, said Weld “loves running horses over here.”

“He would like a crack at a Grade 1, and it’s a nice, big, galloping track, which she likes,” Cashman said.

Zhukova has twice taken on males and won both races. In April 2016, Zhukova won a listed stakes at The Curragh in Ireland, defeating the filly Found, who had won the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Zhukova won her only start this year, the Noblesse Stakes, by two lengths. Cashman said Zhukova would prefer a turf course with give in the ground. Sylvester de Sousa is expected to ride Zhukova in the Man o’ War.

Among those expected to run in the Man o’ War are Highland Sky, Patterson Cross, and Wake Forest.

Highland Sky scratched out of Saturday’s Fort Marcy due to soft turf. Trainer Barclay Tagg said he wouldn’t want to run Highland Sky unless the turf was firm.

On Monday, Wake Forest, last year’s Man o’ War winner, worked a half-mile over the Belmont turf in 50.20 seconds in company with Elysea’s World.

Sadler’s Joy, winner of the Grade 2 Pan American at Gulfstream, worked five furlongs in 1:05.12, shading 24 seconds for the final quarter.