It’s Sistercharlie by a nose in Diana
With a star-studded field that included three of the top turf fillies in the U.S, the 80th Diana Handicap (G1) could hardly fail to live up to its billing.
And it didn’t. With longshot Ultra Brat looking as though he might be on his way to a huge upset win, even-money favorite Sistercharlie found another gear late, closing with a devastating rush to get the bob over the 15-1 second-longest shot on the board. The official margin was a nose.
“In mid-stretch, I was worried that she wouldn’t get there, especially when she didn’t want to [on] get her correct lead in the lane,” said winning trainer Chad Brown, who notched his third straight victory in the Diana. “When Johnny finally got her there, I could see her surging. It was a matter of being on the right side of the photo.”
Not surprisingly, Hawksmoor made the early running, with Ultra Brat keeping her honest in second and Sistercharlie following along in fifth after breaking poorly. New Money Honey and A Raving Beauty were also in contention.
Hawksmoor was still there after turning for home, but Ultra Brat put her away in mid-stretch. With A Raving Beauty (the 5-2 second choice) having to check late on the turn and Sistercharlie with work left to do, Ultra Brat was looking pretty brave as she passed the eighth pole. But it was not to be. With John Velazquez doing the urging, Sistercharlie proved worthy of her favored status by proving best late.
“She switched leads late but when she finally did, she gave me that spurt to get there in time,” said Velazquez. “She’s a very good filly. She just has to get it together at the start and break better.”
The winning time was a rapid 1:46.26. Despite losing momentum on the far turn, A Raving Beauty managed to rally for third. She was followed by Hawksmoor, Proctor’s Ledge, New Money Honey and War Canoe.
It was a heartbreaking loss for multiple Grade 3 winner Ultra Brat, who raced just off the pace and still nearly had enough left to hold on.
“I’m thrilled,” said Graham Motion, Ultra Brat’s trainer. “She re-confirmed what I thought – that she belonged in the race. It’s just a tough beat.”
Sistercharlie, an Irishbred who races for Peter Brant, is a neck and a head shy of being undefeated in four U.S. starts since coming over from France last summer. Her overall record stands at 9-5-3-0, with lifetime earnings of $1,126,403.