Brown Says Rockemperor, Serve the King Likely For BC Turf

Trainer Chad Brown reported that Rockemperor and Serve the King, the one-two finishers of Saturday's $500,000 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, are both likely for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf on November 6 at Del Mar.

Piloted by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano for the first time, the 5-year-old bay son of Holy Roman Emperor rated along the hedge down the backstretch and was tipped wide approaching the far turn. In upper stretch, Rockemperor collared Gufo and drew off to victory in a final time of 2:25.60 over firm going at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Rockemperor, who earned a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure with a two-length victory in the Joe Hirsch at 15-1 odds, secured his first graded stakes triumph in North America after ten previous efforts at such level.

Following a third to stablemate Tribhuvan in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy on May 1 at Belmont, Brown added blinkers to Rockemperor through his next four starts, which included a ten-furlong allowance win over the inner turf in June. He removed the blinkers for the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic after a keen fourth in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“The horse just wasn't getting in position like I wanted to, so I put the blinkers on him and he did quite well with them initially,” Brown said. “For whatever reason in the Sword Dancer, he got way too rank and started turning the other way on us, so I had to make another adjustment and take them off and listen to the horse. Javier fit the horse really well and it all worked out.”

The triumph was a redeeming one for Rockemperor, who finally struck graded stakes gold in North America. He was previously seven-times graded stakes placed.

Peter Brant's Serve the King needed racing room in upper stretch but displayed a late rally once in the clear to provide Brown with the Joe Hirsch exacta. The 5-year-old Kingman bay garnered a career-best 100 Beyer.

Brown also ran one-two in his previous Joe Hirsch Turf Classic scores with Slumber finishing three-quarters of a length behind Big Blue Kitten, and Fanciful Angel running a late-closing second, five lengths to Beach Patrol.

“I'm proud of the horse,” Brown said of Serve the King, who arrived at the Joe Hirsch off a win in the restricted John's Call on August 25 at Saratoga. “He was training like a horse that was ready to step up. He got in some trouble turning for home, I thought he would have gotten closer had he gotten clear. He really stepped up and seems to be a horse that's improving.”

Brown said he would look at the Breeders' Cup Turf for both Rockemperor and Serve the King. He could have as many as four entered in the Breeders' Cup Turf with multiple Grade 1-winner Domestic Spending and Tribhuvan, a winner of the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., two starts back, also pointing for the race. Brown secured a win in the 2019 Turf with eventual Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar.

Just less than an hour after notching first and second in the Joe Hirsch, Brown's stable was well-represented when Blowout and Regal Glory, both owned by Peter Brant, ran one-two in the Grade 1 First Lady going one mile at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Both 5-year-old mares garnered 102 BSFs, which is their first triple-digit BSF to date.

Blowout arrived at her first Grade 1 score off a fourth-place finish beaten 2 ¼ lengths against males in the Grade 1 Fourstardave at Saratoga, which is her only off-the-board effort in 14 lifetime starts. Regal Glory captured the Plenty of Grace at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., ahead of a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game and a victory in the restricted De La Rose in August at Saratoga.

The First Lady is a “Win And You're In” to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar, which is contested at 1 3/8 miles this year. Neither horse has gone past nine furlongs.

“I'm not sure yet. I'll speak to Mr. Brant about that and see where we'll go,” said Brown when asked of Breeders' Cup aspirations.

Brown also found the winner's circle on Saturday with Jeff Drown's first-time starter Zandon, a dark bay or brown juvenile son of second-crop sire Upstart who earned an 80 Beyer going six furlongs over the main track.

A start in the $150,000 Grade 3 Nashua on November 7 at Belmont Park could be in play for Zandon, Brown said.

“He's a big, good looking horse,” Brown said. “He should stretch out just fine. We'll see how he trains and go from there, but that's under consideration.”

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Blowout Becomes Brown’s Fifth First Lady Winner Saturday At Keeneland

Trainer Chad Brown continued his dominance of the Grade 1 First Lady Presented by UK HealthCare with the 1-2 finish by owner Peter Brant's Blowout (GB) and Regal Glory.

Brown has won the past four runnings of the 1-mile race and five overall. The only other trainer with multiple wins in the race was Brown's mentor, Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel. Brown's other winners are Dayatthespa (2014), A Raving Beauty (GER) (2018), and Uni (GB) in 2019 and 2020.

Both fillies came out of the race well along with sixth-place finisher Viadera (GB), according to Baldo Hernandez, Brown's assistant at Keeneland.

With the victory, Blowout received a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Grade 1 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf to be run Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Beaten a length for the $240,000 winner's share was Empress Josephine (IRE) for trainer Aidan O'Brien and the ownership group of Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith.

“She was very encouraging,” said Kieran Murphy, O'Brien's assistant. “The plan is to run her back Saturday (in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana) and I think the extra furlong should benefit her.”

Godolphin's Althiqa (GB), fourth as the favorite after a rough trip, is scheduled to begin her journey back to Europe Monday night.

“You just can't be that far back (early) at Keeneland,” said Christopher Durham, assistant to trainer Charlie Appleby.

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Blowout Outlasts Regal Glory To Win First Lady, Earn BC F&M Turf Spot

Blowout may not have blown the field away, but she did have plenty of gas for a gate-to-wire win in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., earning a spot in the starting gate for the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

The Chad Brown-trained mare broke from post nine and jetted out to the lead in the opening strides of the one-mile stakes, drawing out to a two-length advantage entering the first turn. La Signare and Regal Glory trailed her within striking distance down the backstretch, but Blowout was able to run easily on the lead, setting fractions of :23.76 for the first quarter and :47.75 for the half mile.

Around the far turn, jockey Jose Ortiz made a bold move with Regal Glory, sending her zipping up on Blowout's outside, nearly on even terms entering the stretch. On the good Keeneland turf, the two entered the stretch dueling, with Ortiz and Regal Glory trying to get past Blowout in the race's final furlong. Under jockey Flavien Prat, Blowout was able to hold on, winning the G1 First Lady by a half-length. Empress Josephine was third. The final time for the one-mile stakes was 1:34.86.

Find this race's chart here.

Blowout paid $12.60, $6.40, and $4.80. Regal Glory paid $7.40 and $5.00. Empress Josephine paid $8.20.

The First Lady Stakes is a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the corresponding Breeders' Cup race, to be held Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“She's a really special filly for us, for my boss, Chad Brown. She does everything we ask. She's improving a lot. She came here to Keeneland and gave a really good performance. She's as good as she can be. She tries every time she runs,” assistant trainer Baldo Hernandez said after the First Lady.

“As usual she showed a lot of speed out of the gate, and I was able to get myself comfortable on the lead where I didn't have too much pressure. She relaxed well down the backside. She fought really hard down the lane because she lost the lead for a little bit, but she dug in and fought back and really made a great stretch run,” jockey Flavien Prat told the Keeneland Communications Office after the race.

Bred in England by Dayton Investments Ltd., Blowout is a 5-year-old mare by Dansili (GB) out of the Deep Impact (JPN) mare Beauty Parlour (GB), winner of the 2012 French One Thousand Guineas. She is owned by Peter Brant and trained by Chad Brown. Blowout was consigned by The Castlebridge Consignment and sold for $481,095 to Whitebirch at the 2016 Goffs November Foals Sale. With her win in the G1 First Lady, she has two wins in three starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 14 starts and career earnings of $988,600.

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Blowout Gives Brown Another First Lady Crown

Peter Brant's Blowout (GB) (Dansili {GB} gave trainer Chad Brown his fourth consecutive victory in Keeneland's GI First Lady S., leading every step of the way to just stave off a final-furlong rally from the commonly owned 'TDN Rising Star' Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) to punch her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar Nov. 6. Empress Josephine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire} x Lillie Langtry {Ire}) ran with merit to be third.

Blowout was kicked straight into the lead by Flavien Prat from an outside alley and established a clear lead through the first two panels in a manageable :23.76 and a half in :47.75, chased most closely through the opening exchanges by La Signare (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and Regal Glory, who traveled three wide the trip without the benefit of cover. Traveling nicely on the bridle nearing the stretch, Blowout was confidently ridden past the eighth pole and, although Regal Glory tried her very best, she could not press past and Blowout was home narrowly in front. Empress Josephine sat a ground-saving trip better than midfield, was pulled off the inside and rallied three wide into the stretch and ran on to be a highly creditable third. Favored Althiqa (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), winner of the GI Just A Game S. and GI Diana S. in her two most recent starts, raced in the slipstream of Empress Josephine down the back, but endured a checkered passage through the final furlong and a half and did well to be fourth.

A Raving Beauty (Ger) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}, 2018); and Uni (GB) (More Than Ready, 2019 & 2020) were Brown's other recent winners. He won his first running of the First Lady with Dayatthespa (City Zip) in 2014, who followed up in the F/M Turf at Santa Anita.

“As usual she showed a lot of speed out of the gate, and I was able to get myself comfortable on the lead where I didn't have too much pressure,” said Prat of the winner. “She relaxed well down the backside. She fought really hard down the lane because she lost the lead for a little bit, but she dug in and fought back and really made a great stretch run.”

Blowout was one of the more luckless horses in training in 2020, losing a third-level Saratoga allowance by a neck last August, the GIII Noble Damsel S. to stable companion Viadera (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) by a similar margin the following month and missing by a nose to the latter in the GI Matriarch S. in November. The bay held on to win the GII Distaff Turf Mile May 1 at Churchill after opening up by as many as eight lengths and was a latest fourth to Got Stormy (Get Stormy) after cutting out a strong pace in the GI Fourstardave H. Aug. 14 at the Spa.

Pedigree Notes:

Blowout is the 23rd top-level scorer for her sire and is the second GISW out of a daughter of the late Deep Impact (Jpn). The other, the striking 7-year-old Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}), was to run in Sunday's G2 Kyoto Daishoten at Hanshin.

In the name of Whitebirch, Brant paid €450,000 for Blowout at the 2016 Goffs November Sale. She is the second foal from her dam, who carried the Wildenstein silks to a popular victory in the 2012 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) ahead of a close runner-up effort in that year's G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks). Beauty Parlour, a daughter of SW & MGSP Bastet, is a full-sister to Barocci (Jpn), a stakes winner and Group 3-placed in France and placed in the GII City of Hope Mile and GII American H. in this country for Hronis Racing and John Sadler.

Beauty Parlour is the dam of the 2-year-old filly Bouffant (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and a yearling filly by the late Coolmore legend.

Saturday, Keeneland
FIRST LADY S. PRESENTED BY UK HEALTHCARE-GI, $400,000, Keeneland, 10-9, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:34.86, gd.
1–BLOWOUT (GB), 124, m, 5, by Dansili (GB)
               1st Dam: Beauty Parlour (GB) (G1SW-Fr, $713,308), by Deep Impact (Jpn)
               2nd Dam: Bastet (Ire), by Giant's Causeway
               3rd Dam: Benediction (Ire), by Day Is Done (Ire)
1ST GRADE I WIN. (€450,000 Wlg '16 GOFNOV). O-Peter M.
Brant; B-Dayton Investments Ltd. (GB); T-Chad C. Brown;
J-Flavien Prat. $240,000. Lifetime Record: 14-5-7-1,
$988,600. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Regal Glory, 124, m, 5, by Animal Kingdom
               1st Dam: Mary's Follies (MGSW, $338,889), by More Than Ready
               2nd Dam: Catch the Queen, by Miswaki
               3rd Dam: Wave to the Queen, by Wavering Monarch
($925,000 5yo '21 KEEJAN). O-Peter M. Brant; B-Paul P
Pompa (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $80,000. 'TDN Rising Star'
3–Empress Josephine (Ire), 121, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
               1st Dam: Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Hwt. Filly at 3-Eng- at 7 – 9 1/2 f., G1SW-Ire, G1SW-Eng,
               $1,361,940), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
               2nd Dam: Hoity Toity (GB), by Darshaan (GB)
               3rd Dam: Hiwaayati (GB), by Shadeed
O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor & Derrick Smith;
B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan P. O'Brien. $40,000.
Margins: HF, HF, 1HF. Odds: 5.30, 5.80, 11.50.
Also Ran: Althiqa (GB), Abscond, Viadera (GB), Harvey's Lil Goil, Daddy Is a Legend, Dalika (Ger), Hendy Woods, Star Command, La Signare (Fr). Scratched: Princess Grace.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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