Indian Pride gives Chad Brown sweep of Saratoga stakes in Shine Again
By NYRA Press Office
Brereton C. Jones’ Indian Pride ensured trainer Chad Brown swept Friday’s stakes double, fending off Blamed in deep stretch to register a half-length victory in the $85,000 Shine Again for older fillies and mares on Friday at Saratoga Race Course.
Indian Pride’s third victory in four career starts gave Brown his third consecutive win on the card, which started when he conditioned Viadera and Noor Sahara to a 1-2 finish in the $85,000 De La Rose.
Following Lady Lawyer’s allowance win in Race 8, Saratoga’s reigning two-time leading trainer completed the natural hat trick in the Shine Again. Indian Pride broke alertly under Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, leading the nine-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.13 seconds and the half in 46.06 on the main track rated fast.
Entering the turn, Joy Epifora briefly took command in front of Indian Pride, though Castellano encouraged his charge and quickly regained the advantage staying near the rail. But Blamed, the multiple graded stakes-winner trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, surged from her outside in the final furlong. The duo linked up and ran eyeto-eye in the final sixteenth before Indian Pride pulled away to complete the sevenfurlong sprint in a 1:21.63 final time, capturing her first career stake.
“It was a really good ride the way he stayed off the fence a bit and avoided getting hooked by the other speed and just let her do her thing out in the center of the track,” Brown said. “That was our plan in the paddock and Javier executed it. And what about the filly the heart she showed? Most horses would give up and I think we really should give all credit to her.”
Off as the 2-1 favorite, Indian Pride returned $6 on a $2 win bet. The 4-yearold Proud Citizen filly improved her career bankroll to $157,550, returning to the site where she broke her maiden by eight lengths last August. Her only non-win came with a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Raven Run to cap her sophomore campaign in October at Keeneland.
“She showed what she’s made of today. I was really proud of her effort,” Brown said. “She’s always been a horse that had immense talent. When she broke her maiden here last summer it was breathtaking really, arguably the most impressive win we had last year. She’s had some bumps and bruises along the way in terms of the interrupted schedule, but now she has two straight races under her belt and I hope to have her for the whole season.”