NEW YORK’S SARATOGA SPRINGS -The four horses for trainer Chad Brown who placed 1-2-3-4 in the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday may very likely follow different routes in their upcoming races, Brown said on Sunday.According to Brown, In Italian, who handed him his eighth victory in the Diana, will probably take a short break and point to the Grade 1, $600,000 First Lady Stakes, which will be run over a mile on October 8 at Keeneland.Brown highlighted that In Italian has been in intensive training for a considerable amount of time, but he did not fully rule out running her back in the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa here on August 27.In Italian made her fifth appearance of the year in The Diana; her first came in January when she won an allowance race at Tampa Bay Downs.[thrive_2step id=’1134152′]Get Free Saratoga Picks via email Click here[/thrive_2step]
Given her impressive early speed and ability to lead the race for 1 1/8 miles, the Diana was unquestionably In Italian’s best race.Her finishing time of 1:45.06 set a new track record for the distance on the Mellon Turf.Brown added, referring to the 6-year-old mare he owns who has won two Grade 1 races this year, “I don’t think anyone was going to catch In Italian in any situation yesterday regardless of who it was.”She definitely stood up and delivered. It was her day.”For her performance, In Italian received a 100 Beyer Speed Figure, which is a career high.[thrive_2step id=’1134152′]Get Free Saratoga Picks via email Click here[/thrive_2step]
Technical Analysis made the effort to catch In Italian but was rejected.Technical Analysis finished second by 1 1/2 lengths, Bleecker Street, who placed third by a neck over Rougir.Brown remarked, “What a race Italian ran and the runner-up gave a pretty nice effort, too.”Due to her success at Saratoga, where she won two stakes last summer, Technical Analysis is a natural contender for the Grade 2, $400,000 Ballston Spa over 1 1/16 miles on August 27.Plans for Rougir and Bleecker Street are less clear.Bleecker Street has competed six times this year and finished third in the Diana, which was her first career loss.Brown remarked that he might run her back in the fall.She lost her unbeaten streak, but despite that, Brown said, “she still tried to close up some ground and was good enough to get up for third, which I’m happy of.”Brown claimed that Rougir’s fourth-place showing only helped to confirm his first impression that she preferred soft terrain.If it rains, Brown indicated he would race Rougir in the Grade 1, $500,000 Beverly D. at Churchill Downs on August 13.Brown does not want to run any of his Diana horses around three turns, thus he does not like the Grade 2, $600,000 Flower Bowl at 1 3/8 miles.Brown stated that he likes the Flower Bowl to be run at Belmont Park’s 1 1/4-mile distance, where it has been a fall tradition for decades.On August 6, Brown will probably compete in the Grade 2, $250,000 Glens Falls with Higher Truth and Virginia Joy, and one of those two females may advance to the Flower Bowl.Higher Truth, a second-level allowance winner at Belmont on July 3, completed a half-mile on the Oklahoma turf track in 50.28 seconds on Sunday morning.Virginia Joy, who finished fourth, a length behind Bleecker Street, in the Grade 1 New York on June 10, worked five furlongs on the Oklahoma grass on Sunday morning in 1:01.89 alongside Regal Glory. Virginia Joy won the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay at Belmont by 14 1/4 lengths on May 7.The latter is referencing the Grade 1 Fourstardave matchup on August 13 between men.Brown won four races on Saturday’s schedule, including the Diana.Credit Event was one of the winners, defeating rival 3-year-olds in a first-level allowance race over 1 1/8 miles.Depending on the level of difficulty of the race, Brown stated he would take into consideration the Grade 1, $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational for Credit Event.Brown added, “The distance of the race and the fact that he can compete against only 3-year-olds – those two things make sense. If it comes up extremely tough, I wouldn’t throw him to the wolves and do that.[thrive_2step id=’1134152′]Get Free Saratoga Picks via email Click here[/thrive_2step]
The biggest letdown for Brown on Saturday was Reinvestment Risk’s fifth-place showing in a second-level allowance race despite being the 1-2 favorite.Prior to Saturday, Reinvestment Risk had finished second in both of his last two appearances in Grade 1 events.Something isn’t quite right with that horse, so he’s going to have a second evaluation, Brown said.Nothing shocking here, but we’re going to take a significant step backwards with him.He has always been a model of consistency, so that was very out of character for him.