Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Brown’s BC team solidifying
ELMONT, N.Y. – After winning three Grade 1 stakes in New York – and another in Kentucky – trainer Chad Brown’s roster of contenders for the two-day Breeders’ Cup, to be held on Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs, came into focus over the weekend.
At Belmont, Brown won the Champagne with Complexity and the Beldame with Wow Cat on Saturday. On Sunday, he won the Flower Bowl with Fourstar Crook. Those three winners are all being pointed to Breeders’ Cup races in their respective divisions.
At Keeneland, Brown won the First Lady with A Raving Beauty on Saturday. While that race is a Win and You’re In for the Filly and Mare Turf, Brown said that filly’s Breeders’ Cup status is undetermined.
Complexity was an impressive three-length front-running winner of the Champagne, covering a mile in 1:34.63 and earning a 94 Beyer Speed Figure. He will be among the favorites for the $2 million Juvenile on Nov. 2. Brown won last year’s Juvenile with Good Magic, a maiden who finished second in the Champagne.
Since he’s by the speedy stallion Maclean’s Music, Complexity’s ability to get the two turns and 1 1/16 miles required in the Juvenile will be scrutinized until race day. Complexity is a half-brother to Valadorna, who finished second in the 2016 Juvenile Fillies.
“I think it’s possible this horse can get an extra sixteenth,” Brown said Sunday. “Getting around the two turns could be an issue, but, honestly, the horse can rate. He’s a very kind horse in the morning. I don’t think he needs the lead. On the stretchout, he probably will end up there, but it’s not like he needs it.”
Brown said he also plans to run Standard Deviation in the Juvenile. Standard Deviation finished third, 6 1/4 lengths behind upset winner Knicks Go in the Breeders’ Futurity. But he had a very wide trip breaking from post 13.
Wow Cat parlayed a perfect trip and a modest field to win the Beldame by 3 1/4 lengths. Wow Cat, a Chilean-bred daughter of Lookin At Lucky, covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.75 and earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.
“I’d be inclined to go to the Breeders’ Cup,” Brown said. “I was very impressed with her. I think this filly’s improving, just needed a little extra time to acclimate. I just don’t think she liked Saratoga. She never gave me a strong feeling over that track.”
Fourstar Crook earned her way into the Filly and Mare Turf by winning Sunday’s Flower Bowl by two lengths over stablemate Onthemoonagain. It was the first Grade 1 victory for Fourstar Crook, a 6-yearold New York-bred mare owned by Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables, and Gary Aisquith.
Fourstar Crook covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.28 over an inner turf course labeled good and earned a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure.
“The way she finished today she sure looks like a mile and three-eighths won’t be a problem for her,” Brown said, referring to the distance of the Filly and Mare Turf. “We know that it’ll be a much deeper field, but she’s game and she’s not afraid to run against anybody, I’ll tell you that.”
She will run against the Brown-trained Sistercharlie, a three-time Grade 1 winner whose only loss this year came to Fourstar Crook in the Grade 2 New York Stakes.
Brown’s other definite Breeders’ Cup runners include Newspaperofrecord (Juvenile Fillies Turf) and Robert Bruce (Turf). Fierce Scarlett could join Newspaperofrecord in the Juvenile Fillies Turf pending her effort in Wednesday’s Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland.
Code of Honor eyes Juvenile
Trainer Shug McGaughey said that Champagne runner-up Code of Honor will be trained toward the Juvenile with a decision on whether he’ll run to be made closer to the race.
In the Champagne, Code of Honor stumbled out of the gate and had to rally extremely wide but still finished second, three lengths clear of third-place finisher Call Paul. McGaughey said Code of Honor had only superficial marks on him from the stumble, but nothing that would prevent him from running in the Juvenile.
McGaughey said he told owner Will Farish Sr. Sunday morning: “If we’re going to run him one more time, maybe just take one big shot in the Breeders’ Cup. If we’re right, we’re right. If we’re wrong, we’re back to square one, take him to Florida, and give him a little time.”
Servis brothers earn BC berths
In just over a half-hour Sunday, brothers John and Jason Servis had horses win stakes at Belmont Park to earn bids to the Breeders’ Cup.
John Servis, who at 59 is 1 1/2 years younger than Jason, won the Grade 1 Frizette with Jaywalk, who went gate to wire to win by 5 3/4 lengths. Her final time of 1:34.57 was .06 seconds faster than Complexity’s winning time in the Champagne a day earlier, but her Beyer came back an 84.
“She looks great this morning,” Servis said Monday from Parx. “We’ll play it by ear the next few days. If everything looks good Wednesday or Thursday, we’ll start making some plans and keep our fingers crossed that everything goes well for the next month.”
Thirty minutes earlier on Sunday, Uncle Benny rallied from last to win the $150,000 Futurity at Belmont by a halflength over Backtohisroots. That win made Uncle Benny 2 for 2 and validated Jason Servis’s decision to convince owner Ara Aprahamian to go $50,000 over budget to buy the horse as a yearling for $180,000.
Though the Futurity earned Uncle Benny an automatic berth into the inaugural Juvenile Turf Sprint, Servis said he may not want to cut the horse back to 5 1/2 furlongs. Servis said he plans to pre-enter him in the $1 million Juvenile Turf, run at one mile, as well.
Uncle Benny earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure for the Futurity.