Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Brown’s brigade gets to work with an eye on Breeders’ Cup
ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown sent out an arsenal of graded stakes winners for workouts over the Belmont turf course Sunday as they prepare for upcoming stakes. Many have the Breeders’ Cup as their ultimate destination.
Rushing Fall, the six-time Grade 1-winning mare, and Uni, the champion female turf horse of 2019, led the procession of 14 horses, breezing five furlongs together in 1:00.78, in tandem through a final quarter in 23.21 seconds.
Rushing Fall, whose three victories from as many starts this year include the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley and the Grade 1 Diana, is simply training up to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Brown said he doesn’t feel Rushing Fall needs another race before then and said he doesn’t like the distances of the available races beforehand.
While Brown said the Filly and Mare Turf at 1 3/16 miles is the preferred race, he didn’t rule out pre-entering Rushing Fall in the Mile as well.
Uni, winless in two starts this year including a seventh-place finish in the Fourstardave, is being pointed to the Grade 1 First Lady on Oct. 3 at Keeneland.
Newspaperofrecord, who suffered her first defeat of 2020 when second to Beau Recall in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, also is pointing to the First Lady, Brown said. On Sunday, she worked four furlongs in 48.78 in company with Viadera, the De La Rose Stakes winner who is pointing to Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Nobel Damsel at Belmont Park.
Brown said Tyler Gaffalione will ride Newspaperofrecord in the First Lady. Regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. is on suspension that day, and Javier Castellano, who rode her in the Distaff Turf Mile, is scheduled to ride at Belmont Park on Oct. 3.
Sistercharlie, the female champion turf horse of 2018 who is 0 for 2 this year, worked five furlongs in 1:01.30 on Sunday in company with Domestic Spending. Sistercharlie, third in both the Diana and Ballston Spa at Saratoga, is pointing to the Grade 1 Flower Bowl. Domestic Spending, winner of the Saratoga Derby, is pointing to the Belmont Derby on Oct. 3, Brown said.
Brown believes Sistercharlie is moving in the right direction.
“Her last race she was against the bias. I thought that she finished up well and I think she’s moving forward,” he said.
Digital Age, winner of the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic
at Churchill Downs, and Rockemperor, third in that race, worked a half-mile in company in 48.53 on Sunday. Brown said he is still in the process of finalizing plans for their next starts.
Analyze It and Master Piece worked a half-mile together in 49.60 over the turf Sunday. Analyze It, who came off a 22-month layoff to win the Grade 3 Red Bank on Sept. 5 at Monmouth, is pointing to the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland.
Master Piece, a Group 2 winner in Chile, could make his U.S. debut for Brown in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on Oct. 3 at Belmont.
“Although it’s off a layoff going that far, he trains like a high-quality horse,” Brown said.
Raging
Bull and Without
Parole worked five furlongs together in 1:02.20. Both are under consideration for the Shadwell Turf Mile, Brown said.
Magic Attitude eyeing QE II
Magic Attitude added some much-needed depth to the 3-year-old filly turf division with a solid 1 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational.
In her North America debut, Magic Attitude was last of five early on under Javier Castellano before making an eyecatching move on the turn to seize control of the race by upper stretch. She covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:01.14 and earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.
Owned by Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s Lael Stable, Magic Attitude was making her first start for trainer Arnaud Delacour after having raced for trainer Fabrice Chappet in France. Originally earmarked for the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in August, Magic Attitude got a little sick when she first arrived from France and missed that race.
Delacour said Magic Attitude will be considered for the Grade 1, $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on Oct. 10 at Keeneland, though she would be coming back in three weeks. It also would mean cutting her back in distance to 1 1/8 miles.
“She won a Group 3 going a mile and an eighth,” Delacour said. “At this stage, we’d probably ride her a little bit differently, try to be a little bit closer if we do that. We’ll have to see.”
There also is the chance of training up to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, if the decision is made to point toward that race.
◗ Funny Guy, a candidate for the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap on Oct. 3, worked five furlongs in 59.66 in company with Tale of the Union.