Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Brown’s brigade works for BC
ELMONT, N.Y. – With a Nor’easter forecast for Saturday, Friday became an extremely busy morning at Belmont Park, with 24 horses pre-entered for Breeders’ Cup races putting in workouts over three different tracks.
Trainer Chad Brown moved up scheduled weekend workouts for 11 horses, including eight who worked over the inner turf course. Five of the eight are pre-entered in the $2 million Filly and Mare Turf, led by three-time Grade 1 winner Sistercharlie and recent Grade 1 winners Fourstar Crook and A Raving Beauty.
Sistercharlie, who has not raced since winning the Beverly D. on Aug. 11, went a half-mile in 48.17 seconds in company with Thais, who was third in the Beverly D. and is in the Filly and Mare Turf to ensure pace for Sistercharlie. Both horses are owned wholly or in part by Peter Brant.
Sistercharlie missed some training time in early fall after she bruised a hind foot. Her work schedule has been somewhat compromised in that one week she had to work on dirt and Friday’s work came five days after her previous work.
“We’ve had to make some adjustments to her training around weather, but I still feel we have her coming into the race the right way,” Brown said. “The good thing about her is she’s such a great horse, she’s so talented, that she can overcome things like that.”
Fourstar Crook, the Flower Bowl winner, worked a halfmile in 50.15 seconds in company with A Raving Beauty. The riders had firm holds on the reins of their mounts. A Raving Beauty, who won the one-mile First Lady at Keeneland in her last start, more than likely will stretch out to 1 3/8 miles in the Filly and Mare Turf, though she also was pre-entered in the Mile.
Santa Monica, third in the E.P. Taylor, is Brown’s other potential Filly and Mare Turf starter. She got a little warm on a cool morning while working a half-mile in 50.25 seconds with the 3-year-old filly Pollara.
Robert Bruce (Turf) and Almanaar (Mile) worked a halfmile together in 49.74, while Analyze It (Mile) went a halfmile in company with Instilled Regard in 49.42. Instilled Regard, fourth in the Kentucky Derby, is pointing to the Hollywood Derby on Dec. 1 at Del Mar.
Brown worked three horses on the dirt, led by Juvenile contender Complexity, who went a half-mile in 48.28 by himself, getting his final quarter in 23.72.
“I want to make sure the horse remains relaxed after two races where he showed a lot of pace early,” Brown said. “His two works since the Champagne have been perfect – smooth, easy, relaxed.”
Newspaper of record, the probable favorite for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, worked a halfmile in 48.73 seconds on dirt in company with Significant Form. It is the third straight week that Newspaper of record worked on the dirt.
“Real happy with the way she’s training,” Brown said.
Wow Cat (Distaff) worked a half-mile in 48.92 seconds in company with Pacific Wind.
Trainer Shug McGaughey moved up a scheduled Saturday work for Juvenile contender Code of Honor. With John Velazquez up, Code of Honor went five furlongs in 1:00.64 on Friday, with a strong gallop-out of six furlongs in 1:12.99 and seven furlongs in 1:26.49.
“He’s always been pretty efficient, pretty professional, but he’s been more so,” McGaughey said. “I liked his works, the way he’s done it, the way he’s handled it, the way he’s come out of it, so that means the Champagne didn’t take a lot out of him.”
Over the Belmont training track, Juvenile Fillies contender Sippican Harbor worked seven furlongs in 1:28.65 from the five-furlong pole. She began her move about five lengths behind Aire Bueno and finished three or four in front after five furlongs in 1:02.87 before getting her final quarter in 25.78.
“Great finish and great gallop-out,” trainer Gary Contessa said. “After the wire was probably the best part.”
Contessa said exercise rider M.C. Brock, who comes down from Saratoga just to work Sippican Harbor, told him: “All I did was change my hands, and that filly went past him in one second. It was the most unbelievable feeling. I had so much horse under me, it was incredible.”
Earlier in the morning on the training track, Irad Ortiz Jr. worked Firenze Fire (Dirt Mile) in 49.63 seconds, with a final quarter of 24.68 by himself. After taking that horse back to the barn, he got on Uncle Benny (Juvenile Turf) and worked him a half-mile in 50.00 in company.
Trainer Todd Pletcher worked four horses pre-entered for the Breeders’ Cup, including the South American mare Smart Choice (Filly and Mare Turf), who worked a half-mile in 48.02 with Juvenile Turf prospect Opry, who seemingly was going the easier of the pair.
“My impression would be [Smart Choice] probably wants a little more cut in the ground than was out there this morning, but she did fine,” Pletcher said. “The last part of the gallop-out was good. I think we got from a conditioning standpoint what we were looking for.”
Pletcher said Opry’s work “was one of the better works I’ve seen him have.”
Hi Happy (Turf) and Blind Ambition (Turf Sprint) worked a half-mile together in 48.90 seconds. Blind Ambition needs some help to get into the Turf Sprint, but Pletcher said he wants to run him if he can get in.
Trainer Barclay Tagg worked Distaff longshot Verve’s Tale five furlongs in 1:01.02, while Juvenile Fillies prospect Cassie’s Dreamer went a half-mile in 48.64 seconds in company with Brucia La Terra.
Kiaran McLaughlin worked Qurbaan (Mile) five furlongs in 1:01.85 and Dream Pauline (Filly and Mare Sprint) five furlongs in 1:00.99. McLaughlin said he would like to run both horses if they can get into their races.
Disco Partner worked a halfmile in 50.76 over the main track under Joel Rosario, who will ride him in the Turf Sprint. Irad Ortiz Jr. has chosen to ride World of Trouble.