Technical Analysis Takes Athenia In Likely Career Finale

In a race packed with quality fillies and mares, Technical Analysis (m, 5, Kingman {GB}–Sealife {Ire}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) posted a frontrunning score in the Athenia S. ahead of two of her stablemates.

A known face in the Grade I circuits, the 8-5 favorite had last been seen finishing fifth in the GII Mohegan Sun Ballston Spa S. at Saratoga, but beaten barely two lengths in a blanket finish. She'd started her 2023 season with a runner-up effort in the Perfect Sting S. at Belmont over the summer and won the De La Rose S. two back.

Right to the front after the jump here, she showed the way in hand as :23.89, :49.74, and 1:14.26 sailed by on the clock. Called on as she swung into the lane, Beaute Cachee (Fr) (Literato {Fr}) was making a move for the front on the rail, but Jose Ortiz held his lane firm as quarters got tight for that eventual runner-up. Game as they come, she caught a second wind and held off the field by 1 1/4 lengths as Fluffy Socks (Slumber {GB}) closed well from the back to close the trifecta. Technical Analysis's career-closing victory was Jose's fourth on the card.

 

“It's nice to see her go out a winner. I'm so proud of her career,” said Chad Brown. “She's been such a durable horse since the day we bought her as a yearling until now. She's a very dependable horse, the type that any trainer really wants in the barn. I'll miss her.”

Technical Analysis is the flag bearer for dam Sealife, who has yet to produce another runner to make it to the races. She produced a yearling colt by Too Darn Hot (GB) as well as a 2023 filly by Kingman (GB), but has no cover for 2024 on record. Hailing from the family of several Group 1 winners like Australian champion stayer G1SW Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}), Technical Analysis is catalogued to go through the 2023 Keeneland November Sale in Book One as HIP 145. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

ATHENIA S., $150,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-27, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8mT, 1:49.20, fm.
1–TECHNICAL ANALYSIS (IRE), 124, m, 5, Kingman (GB)–Sealife (Ire), by Sea The Stars (Ire). (200,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $82,500. Lifetime Record: MGSW & MGISP, 16-8-4-1, $1,059,043.
2–Beaute Cachee (Fr), 124, f, 4, Literato (Fr)–Sign And Seal (Ire), by Hurricane Run (Ire). (€1,500 Ylg '20 ARQAU). O-Madaket Stables LLC, Michael Dubb and Louis Lazzinnaro LLC; B-Gregor Vischer (FR); T-Chad C. Brown. $30,000.
3–Fluffy Socks, 126, m, 5, Slumber (GB)–Breakfast Time, by Kitten's Joy. O/B-Head Of Plains Partners (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $18,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, NK. Odds: 1.70, 5.60, 2.65.
Also Ran: Sparkle Blue, Favor, Uncorked (Aus), Evidencias (Brz), Eight Danzas. Scratched: Miss Dracarys.

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Pocket Square Gets 92 Beyer Speed Figure For Athenia, Brown Targets Champagne For Jack Christopher

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown saddled Pocket Square and Miss Teheran to a one-two finish in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 3 Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The victory provided Brown with his 100th graded stakes win at Belmont Park, joining Hall of Famers Todd Pletcher and Shug McGaughey as the only conditioners to reach the century mark of graded stakes wins at Belmont.

Juddmonte homebred Pocket Square, with Irad Ortiz, Jr. up, rated in fourth outside rivals before advancing wide through the turn and powering home a 2 1/2-length winner, garnering a 92 Beyer. She paid $2.90 as the odds-on favorite.

Pocket Square, a 4-year-old Night of Thunder chestnut, entered from a 4 1/4-length optional-claiming win traveling nine furlongs on the turf at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on August 25.

“I'm really pleased with how she came out of the race and I'm really happy the way she's put a couple of nice wins together now – impressive wins,” Brown said. “We have her back on track. We've always thought a lot of her.”

Pocket Square, sixth in her lone sophomore start in the Group 3 Musidora at York, was a Group 3 winner as a juvenile in France for her former conditioner Roger Charlton. She notched a debut win for Brown in a 1 1/16-mile allowance tilt at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., in April and followed with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Grade 1 company in the one-mile Longines Just a Game in June at Belmont and the nine-furlong Diana in August at Saratoga.

Brown said he left the Athenia trip in the capable hands of Ortiz, Jr.

“I certainly wanted her to stay out of trouble as the heavy favorite in a short field, so I did leave it up to Irad,” Brown said. “He knew what he had and he had a plan. Irad has really focused on trying to get to know this horse. He has a terrific record on her. He's ridden her so well. He's been very helpful with the development of her over here.”

Brown said he may have rushed Pocket Square into her recent Grade 1 efforts but that the filly's recent efforts are encouraging.

“Now that I've had a chance to regroup and given her a couple of easier races, she's shown the ability we saw over the winter,” Brown said. “It's probably time now to step into a higher level race again. I'm not sure where or when yet, but her training will guide us.”

Brown said he spoke with Juddmonte general manager Garrett O'Rourke following the race and would even consider stretching Pocket Square out in distance.

“It did strike me yesterday when she stormed to the front and kicked on to the wire and beyond that this filly can run further than I originally thought of her when I started this campaign in the spring at Keeneland,” Brown said. “She looked the part potentially of a miler on form when she came over here.

“I saw something yesterday when she got to the wire and on out that she seemed steady and strong as she kept going out,” Brown added. “I wouldn't be afraid to try her longer distances. I wouldn't have thought of that in the spring or earlier in the summer, but your opinion can change if they develop, certainly.”

Miss Teheran rallied from the back of the pack under Manny Franco to complete the Athenia exacta, but was pulled up in the gallop out and provided a precautionary ride home in the equine ambulance.

“Unfortunately she bled in the race. It's uncharacteristic for her. We'll have to regroup with her and figure out her future,” Brown said.

Swift Thoroughbreds, Madaket Stables, and Wonder Stables' Tamahere romped gate-to-wire in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile Violet at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., contested over yielding turf.

The victory, which garnered a career-best 104 Beyer, was the 4-year-old Wootton Bassett filly's first win since the one-mile Grade 2 Sands Point in October at Belmont in her North American debut, following a trio of starts in her native France.

Tamahere entered the Violet from a pacesetting fourth in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa in August at Saratoga.

“It's nice to get her back on track. Obviously, she's been really keen in her races,” Brown said. “Her year didn't quite go as we planned based on how we started her career over here with an impressive off-the-pace win in the Sands Point, but she's definitely had some difficulties since then and some keen situations and such and been a little inconsistent.

“It was nice to let her cruise along on the lead at Monmouth,” he added. “She certainly loved the course.”

Klaravich Stables' McKulick and e Five Thoroughbreds' Kinchen worked five-eighths in company Sunday on the Belmont inner turf in 1:02.09 in preparation for Saturday's Grade 2 Miss Grillo, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for juvenile fillies.

McKulick, by Frankel and out of the Makfi mare Astrelle, graduated on debut in a 1 1/6-mile turf maiden on August 8 at Saratoga with Ortiz, Jr. up.

Kinchen, by Lope de Vega and out of the Galileo mare Miss Nouriya, rallied to finish second in her August 29 debut at 1 1/16 miles on the Saratoga turf under Tyler Gaffalione.

My Sister Nat [1:00.80] and Orglandes [1:00.40] breezed five-eighths in company on the inner turf in preparation for Sunday's Grade 3 Fasig-Tipton Waya at 11 furlongs on the inner turf.

“They both went super,” Brown said.

Peter Brant's My Sister Nat, a Group 3-winner in France, won last year's Waya when it was contested at 12 furlongs on the Saratoga turf. The 6-year-old Acclamation bay sports a record of 19-3-7-5 with purse earnings of $660,672.

Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael J. Caruso's Orglandes, a 5-year-old French-bred daughter of Le Havre, won the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap in November at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. She has finished sixth in a pair of Grade 2 starts this year in the Sheepshead Bay in May at Belmont and the Glens Falls in August at the Spa.

Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister's promising Grade 1 Champagne aspirant Jack Christopher breezed five-eighths in company with sophomore maiden winner Pipeline in 1:00 flat Saturday on the main track.

“Two nice horses there. They both came out of it well,” Brown said. “He's [Jack Christopher] on target for the Champagne. Pipeline, I'm considering waiting and running him in the Perryville at Keeneland later in the meet. He just broke his maiden but his figures are so fast, I'd like to see how the race comes up.”

Jack Christopher, a Munnings chestnut who was purchased for $135,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, registered a 92 Beyer for his 8 3/4-length debut score in a six-furlong maiden special weight on August 28 at Saratoga.

John Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock Services' Pipeline, by Speightstown and out of the Empire Maker mare Vivo Per Lei, graduated at fourth asking in a seven-furlong maiden tilt on September 4 at Saratoga. The bay colt's 3 1/4-length score matched a career-best 97 Beyer.

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Klaravich Stables' Domestic Spending worked five-eighths on the inner turf in 1:01.52 in company with Rockemperor [1:01.45].

Domestic Spending, a three-time Grade 1-winner, finished second last out in the Grade 1 Mr. D. on August 14 at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill. Brown said the 4-year-old Kingman gelding is likely to make his next start in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf in November at Del Mar.

“I'm going train him [Domestic Spending] to the Breeders' Cup and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Rockemperor yet,” Brown said.

Technical Analysis breezed five-eighths in 1:02.65 on the inner turf in preparation for the Grade 1 QEII Challenge Cup on October 16 at Keeneland.

“She breezed really good this morning,” Brown said.

Public Sector [1:02.11] and Sifting Sands [1:02.08] breezed five-eighths in company on the inner turf in preparation for the $400,000 Grade 2 Hill Prince, a nine-furlong turf test for sophomores on October 23 at Belmont.

Klaravich Stables' Gerrymander worked a half-mile in :48.77 on the Belmont main track Sunday in preparation for next Sunday's Grade 1 Frizette against a tough field led by Echo Zulu for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

Gerrymander, a 2-year-old Into Mischief bay, garnered a 73 Beyer in her second-out maiden score sprinting six furlongs on the Saratoga main track on August 29.

“I know that's a tough spot but she broke her maiden and I want to try her at a mile,” Brown said. “I like the way the horse is training but she's going to have to really step up. This is a really strong race. Asmussen's filly is in there and I think she's the best 2-year-old dirt filly I've seen run, so everyone has their work cut out for them.”

Klaravich Stables' Portfolio Company breezed a half-mile in :49.05 on the Belmont main track.

Brown said the 2-year-old Kitten's Joy colt, runner-up last out in the Grade 3 With Anticipation, has been training with a new bit and will be piloted by Joel Rosario in the Grade 2 Pilgrim.

“He had a little work on the dirt today and it thought he went well,” Brown said. “I just put a different bit on him for a little more control.”

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Pocket Square’s Athenia Win Gives Brown 100th Graded Stakes Victory At Belmont Park

Juddmonte homebred Pocket Square, expertly handled by Irad Ortiz, Jr., rallied to a fashionable victory over stablemate Miss Teheran in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 3 Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

The victory provided four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown with his 100th graded stakes win at Belmont Park, according to records provided by Equibase.

“What an achievement for my team, my owners, and my horses throughout the years that have run so hard,” Brown said. “A big thank you to NYRA for providing me and my horses such great facilities to train and race on through the years. They have been instrumental in developing my business.”

A 4-year-old Night of Thunder chestnut, Pocket Square entered from a 4 1/4-length optional-claiming win traveling nine furlongs on the Saratoga Race Course turf on August 25.

Pocket Square rated comfortably outside rivals in fourth as Stand for the Flag set splits of :25.30, :51.41, and 1:16.71 on the good turf.

Lake Lucerne pressed the pacesetter through the final turn with Made In Italy advancing up the rail and Pocket Square angling outside for the stretch run. But Pocket Square, always moving like a winner, took over the lead from Lake Lucerne at the stretch call and secured a 2 1/2-length win in a final time of 1:51.19.

Pocket Square, sixth in her lone sophomore start in the Group 3 Musidora at York Racecourse in England, was a Group 3 winner as a juvenile in France for her former conditioner Roger Charlton. She notched a debut win for Brown in a 1 1/16-mile allowance tilt at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., in April and followed with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Grade 1 company in the one-mile Longines Just a Game in June at Belmont and the nine-furlong Diana in August at Saratoga.

Brown said he may have moved Pocket Square into Grade 1 company too quickly.

“She had that explosive run at Keeneland and I've done that before, where I run them in a race like the Just a Game off an effort like that and won,” Brown said. “When it works out well, you feel like a hero. When it doesn't work out, you have to go back to the drawing board, which I had to do. I probably should have brought her along just a little bit slower after that Keeneland race and not throw her in the deep end of the pool, but that's past us now and we have her back on track with a couple of really nice wins.”

The victory provided Ortiz, Jr. with his fourth win on the card following a trio of scores for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher with Life Is Good in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap in Race 4; impressive 2-year-old filly maiden winner Nest in Race 1; and a romping maiden win in Race 6 aboard juvenile New York-bred colt Overstep in Race 6.

“She did everything right,” Ortiz, Jr. said of Pocket Square. “She broke and relaxed. She waited on me to call on her to run and when I asked her, she took off. She looked like much the best.

“I only used the stick a couple of times and that was it,” he added. “She was moving comfortably so I didn't need to do much.”

Miss Teheran, with Manny Franco up, rallied outside rivals to secure the exacta by one length over Lake Lucerne. Made In Italy, and Stand for the Flag completed the order of finish. Main-track-only entrant Spice Is Nice was scratched and will instead target the $250,000 Grade 2 Beldame here on October 10.

“She was moving well and I had a good trip,” said Franco of Miss Teheran, who was pulled up in the gallop out and provided a precautionary ride home in the equine ambulance. “She bled [past the wire], which is the only excuse I can give. She ran a good race.”

Brown, a 14-time leading trainer at Belmont, posted his first graded win at Belmont in the 2008 Miss Grillo [a Grade 3 in that year] with Karen Woods' Maram. Nearly a third of Brown's graded stakes coups at Belmont have come at Grade 1 level, including six victories in the Manhattan, five Flower Bowl wins, and four straight Just a Game triumphs [2017-20].

Bred in Great Britain by her owner, Pocket Square banked $110.000 in victory while improving her record to 9-5-0-1. She returned $2.90 for a $2 win wager.

Live racing returns Sunday at Belmont Park with a 10-race card featuring the $150,000 Bertram F. Bongard for New York-bred juvenile fillies at seven furlongs [Race 4, 2:36] and the Grade 2, $250,000 Gallant Bloom for fillies and mares going 6 ½ furlongs [Race 9, 5:16]. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

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Brown To Saddle Pocket Square, Miss Teheran In Saturday’s Athenia Stakes

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Pocket Square and Miss Teheran in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia, a nine-furlong inner turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park.

Brown has won four of the last five runnings of the Athenia and has totaled five wins overall, including scores by Pianist [2013], Roca Rojo [2016], Off Limits [2017], Rymska [2018] and Tapit Today [2020].

Juddmonte homebred Pocket Square, a 4-year-old Night of Thunder chestnut, enters from a 4 1/2-length optional-claiming win traveling nine furlongs on the Saratoga Race Course turf on Aug. 25.

A Group 3-winner as a juvenile in France for trainer Roger Charlton, Pocket Square posted a debut win for Brown in a 1 1/16-mile Keeneland allowance tilt in April. She followed with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Grade 1 company in the one-mile Longines Just a Game in June at Belmont and the nine-furlong Diana in August at Saratoga.

“We had very high hopes for her coming out of the allowance win at Keeneland and we tried her in some ambitious spots. She has always trained well,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “She came back into form at Saratoga and hopefully that gave her confidence. She's made a good appearance at Belmont this fall.”

Doubledown Stables' Miss Teheran, a 5-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Teofilo, captured a one-mile optional-claimer on the Saratoga turf on August 1 and rallied to finish second last out in the 1 1/16-mile Miss Liberty on August 28 at Monmouth Park. The late-running chestnut boasts a record of 13-4-4-1 with purse earnings of $199,372.

“She had a little bit of a trip and came with a nice late kick, but didn't quite get the job done. She gave a good account of herself and we were pleased with her effort,” Stupp said of the Miss Liberty try. “Obviously, we would have liked to have won but she showed up off her allowance win at Saratoga and gave another good effort.”

Miss Teheran has breezed back twice at Belmont since the Miss Liberty, including a half-mile effort in 50.05 Saturday on the Belmont main track.

“She's had a couple maintenance works and seems to be doing well,” Stupp said. “She's a very honest filly and tries every time. She's a one-run late filly – save a little ground, get a little cover and then get out and make her run.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. has the call aboard Pocket Square from post 4, while Manny Franco will guide Miss Teheran from post 2.

Godolphin homebred Lake Lucerne, a 4-year-old Dubawi bay, enters from a narrow nose score in a 1 1/16-mile optional-claiming event on September 1 at the Spa.

Out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Awesome Again mare Round Pond, Lake Lucerne launched her career in England with trainer John Gosden which included a maiden score in March 2020 at Chelmsford.

Transferred to the care of trainer Brendan Walsh, Lake Lucerne rallied to finish fourth in her North American debut in February at Gulfstream Park and followed with a 3 1/4-length allowance score in May traveling 1 1/16-miles on the Churchill Downs turf.

Jose Lezcano has the call from the inside post.

Rounding out the field are Group 2-placed Made In Italy [post 3, Junior Alvarado] for trainer Graham Motion and two-time winner Stand for the Flag [post 5, Dylan Davis] for conditioner Rob Atras. Spice Is Nice is entered for the main-track only.

The Athenia is slated as Race 10 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap, a one-turn mile for 3-year-olds and up slated for Race 4. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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