Chad Brown | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pompa’s Legacy Lives On

When longtime owner and breeder Paul Pompa, Jr., who campaigned the likes of dual Classic winner Big Brown, passed away suddenly in October of 2020, it was a big blow to many in the industry. Some 19 months after his passing, the owner of Truck-Rite Corp.'s legacy has reached new heights. In the past two months alone, four former Pompa horses have won stakes, topped by Grade I winners Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) and Country Grammer (Tonalist).

“Mr. Pompa was a gentleman and a great sport to work for,” said Lane's End's Allaire Ryan, who supervised the sale of most of Pompa's horses. “First and foremost he cared about his horses and always made the right decisions for them. Alongside his trainers and the farms and training centers he entrusted with his stock, he built a very successful racing stable and commercial breeding operation. There was a plan for each horse from start to finish. Those plans might have had to change day to day, but Mr. Pompa was a discusser, a listener, a thinker and a decision maker through-and-through. Mr. Pompa was a student of the business, always took the time to talk about what was going on with his mares, foals and yearlings. He gave you his time because he was interested in the horses and genuinely cared about each of them. He enjoyed every conversation with him for being thorough, pragmatic, and above all caring.”

Shortly after Pompa's death, his family dispersed of all of his racing and breeding stock. Most of his stock sold in a dispersal handled by Ryan and the Lane's End team at the 2021 Keeneland January Sale. The headliner of that dispersal–and the entire sale–was 'TDN Rising Star' Regal Glory, who was purchased by Peter Brant's White Birch Farm for $925,000 and returned to her regular trainer Chad Brown.

A homebred out of Pompa's GSW Mary's Follies (More Than Ready), Regal Glory had won a trio of graded events prior to the dispersal, but her resume had one thing missing. She filled in that missing piece 10 months after selling to Brant when she captured the GI Martriarch S. in November. The chestnut has continued to honor her late owner and breeder Pompa this year with wins in the GIII Pegasus World Cup F/M Turf Invitational S. in January and another top-level score in the GI Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland in April.

“This filly gave Mr. Pompa a lot to be proud of as she was a homebred for him,” Ryan said. “She dead-heated in the [GII] Lake Placid at Saratoga on very dark, stormy afternoon. I remember how long the stewards deliberated the race call afterwards–a frustrating moment for Mr. Pompa as an owner to share a big win in such tough conditions, but again, he was always the one to see the glass half full and be a good sport in trying situations. There was always tomorrow. He was so proud of this filly after that race.”

Ryan continued, “Mr. Pompa decided after he bred Mary's Follies to Curlin in 2020 that he would sell the mare in November at a time when her commercial value was at its highest. In turn, his plans for Regal Glory were to continue her career and retire her to his broodmare band at [Lane's End] farm. With Chad Brown, Mr. Pompa had this filly on the trajectory to improve with age and she's done exactly that. It's been incredibly satisfying to see Chad and Mr. Brant guide her to this stage in her career and keep her sound and happy at this age. We still cheer for her!”

A $450,000 OBSAPR purchase for Pompa, Country Grammer captured the GIII Peter Pan S. in July of 2020 and gathered some hype heading into that year's GI Runhappy Travers S. Unfortunately, he did not hit his best stride that day, finishing fifth behind GI Belmont S. winner Tiz the Law (Constitution). Shelved for the rest of the season, he was purchased by WinStar for just $110,000 at the KEEJAN dispersal.

Sent to Bob Baffert, Country Grammer showed he was only getting better with age, winning the GI Hollywood Gold Cup S. in his second start for his new connections last May. Benched for the remainder of the year, the bay made his seasonal bow in the desert, finishing second in the G1 Saudi Cup in February and upended heavy favorite Life is Good (Into Mischief) with a decisive score in the G1 Dubai World Cup a month later.

“Country Grammer was another nice physical when he came under our care at the sale,” Ryan said. “I never saw his as a young horse, but from photographs he looks like a quality individual for his sire Tonalist. He had been at WinStar's training center for some R&R and was back training leading up to the sale, so they [Elliott Walden, David Hanley, Destin Heath and Dr. Nieman] appreciated where he was in his career having that insider knowledge. By design after his passing, several of the Pompa dispersal's horses of racing age were prepared here leading up to the sale. Again, credit is due for the programs that have managed these dispersal graduates and brought them–back in Country Grammer's case–to competing at not only the graded stakes level, but now the highest international level of our sport. The win in Dubai was thrilling to see. He validated his status as a top older horse amongst the best talent in the world. It was one of those moments when I thought to myself, if only Mr. Pompa could see this.”

The most recent former Pompa horse to achieve black-type is his homebred colt Ethereal Road (Quality Road), who rallied to a good-looking victory in the Sir Barton S. last weekend. Out of Pompa's War Front mare Sustained, who is also responsible for GSW Turned Aside (American Pharoah), the bay colt brought $90,000 from Dr. Aaron Sones at the 2020 Keeneland September just one month before Pompa's passing and was turned over to D. Wayne Lukas.

A second in the GII Rebel S. in February and fourth in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. in April earned Ethereal Road enough points for a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby starting gate. However, the day before the race, Lukas decided his colt needed more time and scratched, opening the door for upset winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice). The Hall of Fame conditioner still won a big prize that weekend thanks to GI Kentucky Oaks victress Secret Oath (Arrogate) and initially considered both sophomores for the GI Preakness S. Instead he sent the filly to the Classic and placed Ethereal Road in an easier spot on the undercard, which he won with ease.

“Ethereal Road was a big, physically forward yearling that we raised on the farm,” Ryan said. “From day one he was that way. I remember distinctly the order in which we showed yearlings at the farm in our September sale previews to potential buyers. He was the final yearling of each show because he completely filled your eye. Turned Aside had just come off his win in the [GIII] Quick Call S. at Saratoga, so for us at the farm, it was a very exciting time to showcase a yearling colt by Quality Road out of a young, successful producer. While he would keep the odd homebred each year to race, Mr. Pompa's plan was always to take this horse to the sale.”

Pompa's name could still be connected to the winner of a Triple Crown race this year in GI Belmont S. contender We the People (Constitution). Pete Bradley purchased the colt for $220,000 at the 2020 KEESEP sale on Pompa's behalf and he was turned over to Eddie Woods, who did the early conditioning on most of the businessman's horses. Instead of selling in the KEEJAN dispersal, We the People was sent through last year's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale, bringing $230,000 from WinStar Farm, who partnered with Siena Farm and CMNWLTH.

Opening his account with a pair of wins at Oaklawn this winter, the 'TDN Rising Star' found the waters a bit too deep in the GI Arkansas Derby Apr. 2, finishing seventh. But, the bay showed he just needed time, coming back to romp in Belmont's GIII Peter Pan S. May 14 and is now headed for the Test of a Champion June 11.

“He was always a nice horse,” Woods said. “He is by a good stallion. He is a tough, hardy horse like all the Constitutions are. He was a bit disappointing in the Arkansas Derby, but I think it was just too soon for him. He showed how good he is the other day and he is a really nice horse going forward.”

Woods said he was not surprised to see Pompa's continued effect on the industry.

“He had quite an impact because he paid both ends,” the Ocala-based horseman said. “He was a good breeder and a buyer. He bought at every level. He bought yearlings and 2-year-olds. He usually spent plenty of money. He was really easy to work for and deal with. He took bad news as well as he took good news. He was a very straight forward person. You just had to be honest with him all the time. That's all he asked of you. It is ironic now to see all these horses he was involved in winning graded stakes because he would have loved it. He was so into it. It showed he had the right stock.”

Ryan echoed similar sentiments, saying, “It was a tragedy that he passed at a time when he was prepared to retire and focus solely on his racing and breeding. He enjoyed every day of it, but as we've seen since the dispersal, there was so much more coming in the pipeline that he didn't get to experience. It's been so gratifying to see the Pompa graduates compete successfully at the top levels of our sport, but it's definitely bittersweet knowing how much enjoyment Mr. Pompa would be having if they were still in his colors. I can only imagine how proud he would be!”

With the likes of Regal Glory, Country Grammer, Ethereal Road and We the People competing at the top of the game this year and even more in the pipeline, Pompa's legacy will not only grow, but leave an even bigger impact than he could have ever imagined.

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The Week in Review: Is the ‘Fresh Horse’ Angle Getting Stale?

For the second year in a row, the GI Preakness S. was won by a fresh horse who didn't run in the GI Kentucky Derby. Since both of Saturday's top two Preakness finishers–Early Voting (Gun Runner) and Epicenter (Not This Time)–were publicly declared out of the GI Belmont S. even before the last of the crab cakes cooled at Pimlico, it will be up to another relatively rested horse to step up and snag the third jewel of the Triple Crown.

That's not an unfamiliar scenario, and recent history tells us the most likely Belmont win threat could be among the Derby also-rans.
Since 2000, New York's “test of a champion” has been won by 10 horses who ran in Louisville then opted out of Baltimore. During that same time frame, seven horses won the Belmont after not having run in either the Derby or Preakness. We also had two Triple Crown winners (Justify in 2018 and American Pharoah in 2015), and two other horses–Afleet Alex in 2005 and Point Given in 2001–who lost the Derby, won the Preakness, then won the Belmont (the pandemic-altered 2020 Triple Crown scheduling was an anomaly that isn't counted here).

The connections of Rich Strike (Keen Ice) voluntarily held out their Derby winner from the Preakness, citing the desire to have a fresh colt for the Belmont. Yet the 80-1 hero from the first Saturday in May is unlikely to be favored on June 11.

Rich Strike's underdog appeal will undoubtedly attract supporters and a sizable rooting interest. But going from being a blue-collar, no-pressure afterthought who lucked into the Derby off the also-eligible list to being the focal point of microscopic attention in the media capital of the world will be a daunting ask for this overachieving (and sometimes ornery) former $30,000 maiden claimer.

Trainer Todd Pletcher might not have pioneered the now-prevalent “skip the Preakness” methodology. But he's certainly done his part to lend credibility to the “less is more” approach when targeting the Triple Crown's concluding leg.

The Pletcher-conditioned Tapwrit was sixth in the 2018 Derby, passed on the Preakness, then won the Belmont. Similar story for Palace Malice in 2013, except that he was 12th at Churchill. Pletcher's other Belmont winner, the filly Rags to Riches, had the same five-week spacing in 2007, except her circumstances were different, having won the GI Kentucky Oaks prior to taking on males in New York.

Using those templates as a guide, Pletcher is aiming two contenders (at least) toward the Belmont: Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), who got buried with the dreaded rail draw in the Derby, waited too long to uncork a far-turn bid, then displayed sneaky-good acceleration inside the eighth pole to finish fifth, and Nest (Curlin), the filly who won three straight stakes this past winter and spring prior to being the beaten fave (second) in a very competitive renewal of the May 6 Kentucky Oaks.

Barber Road (Race Day), a gritty stayer who was sixth in the Derby, is the only other confirmed Belmont probable among those who ran in the first leg of the Triple Crown. Creative Minster (Creative Cause), a minor-impact third in the Preakness, is also being pointed to the Belmont.

Although that list of Belmont contenders looks light at the moment, it's sure to be shored up over the next 2 1/2 weeks.
Chief among names percolating around the periphery are We the People (Constitution), winner of the May 14 GIII Peter Pan S. with a 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

Two other colts who had formerly been under Derby consideration but instead won confidence-boosters on Saturday could also be in the mix: Ethereal Road (Quality Road), who scored in the Sir Barton S. on the Preakness undercard, plus Howling Time (Not This Time), who captured an allowance/optional claimer at Churchill.

Parsing the outcome of the Preakness need not be a drawn-out affair. Armagnac (Quality Road), an 18-1 outsider, went to the lead. The jockeys aboard two other on-paper speed threats–Fenwick (Curlin) and Simplification (Not This Time)–chose not to force the issue through moderate early fractions. Jose Ortiz, knowing what he had underneath him, willingly conceded the lead with Early Voting and instead sat second, applying quiet but palpable pressure through consecutive quarters in :24.32, :23.12, :24.06 and :24.05 for the first mile of the race.

Meanwhile, at the back of the pack, it was evident by the midway point that the two favorites, Epicenter and the filly Secret Oath (Arrogate), had left themselves too much work to do. While both had endured jostling early in the race, it shouldn't have adversely affected either considering both were in the process of being rated off the pace when the bumping occurred.

Joel Rosario was first to move with a sense of urgency, sending Epicenter up the rail to tag onto the back of the first flight about a half-mile from home. Luis Saez soon mimicked the favorite's “let's hustle” move, expect he stayed widest with Secret Oath. The end result for both was more or less the same: Epicenter had to ride out the run through the far bend while pocketed with nowhere to go, then he had no true spark once he cut the corner and had a clear shot. Secret Oath once again launched into the same loop-the-group maneuver that had come up short in the GI Arkansas Derby, and she similarly petered out in the stretch.

With the favorites foundering behind him, Early Voting simply ratcheted up the torque on Armagnac, going head-and-head for the lead between the seven-sixteenths and quarter poles before cracking that rival for good. He responded to urging like a colt who knows his job, drifted only slightly under left-handed encouragement, then shifted back inward to finish up 1 1/4 comfortable lengths clear of a wheels-spinning Epicenter through a final three-sixteenths in :18.99 and a 1:54.54 clocking for the 1 3/16-mile Preakness (105 Beyer).

The only real surprise was that Early Voting had drifted up to 5.7-1 in the betting. Otherwise, the race unfolded in drama-free fashion. If you didn't know it was the Preakness, it could have been any other race at any level on any given day of the week–an overmatched speed horse gets reeled in by a stalker who gets first run, and no one else is firing through the lane.

In sum, Early Voting's measured, methodical victory was a microcosm of how the 4-for-4 colt got to the Preakness in the first place. His connections–trainer Chad Brown and owner Klaravich Stables–had taken the calculated, patient path in prep races and bypassing the Derby, and it paid off at Pimlico, just as it did five years ago when the same owner/trainer combo won the Preakness with Cloud Computing.

Racing isn't the only sport in which the metrics-driven “waiting game” has cycled into vogue. We see it in major-league baseball, where pitchers are removed from starts solely based on pitch counts, even if a no-hitter or World Series game is on the line. High-value college football recruits now routinely skip important, season-ending bowl games so as not to sully their draft status. And pro basketball teams routinely sit their stars during the regular season with the hope of having fresh bodies for the playoffs, where wins count most.

It's tough to dismiss the current over-reliance on analytics when these formulaic approaches keep producing results. And in racing, you certainly can't argue when owners and trainers opt out of potentially arduous spots citing a desire to “do what's best for the horse.”

But there is a difficult-to-define aesthetic cost to mapping out Triple Crown campaigns so conservatively and meticulously. Having already arrived at the point where getting into the Derby has devolved into a chase for qualifying points, the final two legs of the series are at risk of becoming an exercise of which connections have played the “fresh face” percentages most effectively.

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Early Voting in Good Condition After Preakness Score, Will Skip Belmont

Saturday's GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner) was back in his stall at Belmont Park by mid-morning Sunday, some 15 hours after scoring a 1 1/4-length victory over favored Epicenter (Not This Time) in Saturday's Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

Trainer Chad Brown traveled from Baltimore to New York overnight and was at Belmont Sunday to oversee what is typically a busy morning of timed workouts for horses in his stable. During a brief break, Brown said that Early Voting, owned by Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, came out of the race in good condition, but will not be pointed toward the June 11 GI Belmont S. He added that he was undecided where and when Early Voting would run next, while still savoring his trainee's big day at Pimlico.

“We are thrilled with the victory,” Brown said. “I'm proud of the horse. Proud of my team. It was a super memorable day, especially being on Seth Klarman's birthday in his hometown. Everything lined up. I'm just so appreciative for the day, the performance.”
Brown and Klarman won the Preakness for the second time in five years by using the same formula: skipping the GI Kentucky Derby with a promising, stakes-tested but lightly-raced colt to focus on the Preakness. In 2017, Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) gave Brown his first victory in a Triple Crown series race. Like Cloud Computing, Early Voting was given a break after finishing second in the Apr. 9 GII Wood Memorial S.at Aqueduct.

“He's only run four times and he's done everything we asked him to do,” Brown said. “He breaks good from the gate. He makes his own trips. He carries his speed a route of ground. He's a fighter in the stretch. He deserves all the credit here. He's been extremely cooperative to work with. He's super intelligent. You train him to do something, and he does it. I couldn't be more proud of this horse. He deserves a lot of accolades.”

Ron Winchell, the owner of Epicenter, who ran second in both the Derby and Preakness, reported that the colt is unlikely to contest the Belmont.

“I would say that's a stretch at the moment,” he said. “He had six weeks between the Louisiana Derby and the Derby, and that did him well. I think there might have been five weeks between the Risen Star and the Louisiana Derby, and that did him well. Just looking at how he came back fresh, that seems to be the recipe at the moment. But at least a Gun Runner won.”

Winchell speculated that Monmouth's GI TVG.com Haskell or Saratoga's GI Travers S. could be the next target, with the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland in early November a logical objective.

“We'll turn the page and see where we want to go from there,” he said. “But that's probably the long-term goal.”

Scott Blasi, chief assistant trainer to Asmussen, said Sunday morning that Epicenter came out of the Preakness in good order. He said Epicenter and his stablemates at Pimlico would van back to Churchill Downs on Monday morning.

Creative Minister (Creative Cause), who ran third in the Preakness after being supplemented to the race for $150,000, will be pointed toward the Belmont, trainer Kenny McPeek reported Sunday. McPeek said the colt will likely have a couple of half-mile breezes before the third jewel of the Triple Crown, noting that the gray's breeding could make him a contender in the race.

“He's out of a Tapit mare and Tapits love the Belmont,” McPeek said. “That's the plan.”

Creative Minister will stay at Pimlico for a day or two, McPeek said Sunday, before shipping to New York.

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas was en route back home to Kentucky Sunday with Briland Farms' Secret Oath (Arrogate), the Preakness fourth-place finisher. Lukas said the plan was for the filly to get eight weeks off and then target a series of races against her own sex, including the GI Coaching Club American Oaks July 23 and GI Alabama S. Aug. 20, both at Saratoga, as well as the GI Cotillion S. Sept. 24 at Parx Racing. Her ultimate goal is the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland in November.

Daniel Alonso's Skippylongstocking is under consideration for the Belmont, trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. said Sunday morning. The son of 2016 Preakness winner Exaggerator, who finished fifth in the Preakness, had previously finished third in the Wood Memorial.

“He ran good enough and it might be worth taking a shot at it,” Joseph said. “We won't decide for a week. We'll see how he comes out and see how his energy is and then decide. I think he would get a mile and a half.”

Trainer Antonio Sano reported that Tami Bobo and Tristan De Meric's Simplification (Not Thsi Time) will be turned out in Ocala for rest and relaxation after it was determined that the GII Fountain of Youth S. winner and fourth-place Kentucky Derby finisher had experience exercise-induced pulmonary bleeding during his sixth-place finish in the Preakness.

Other probable starters for the Belmont, according to New York Racing Association notes, include Barber Road (Race Day), Golden Glider (Ghostzapper), Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), Rich Strike (Keen Ice) and We the People (Constitution), while also listed as possible are Ethereal Road (Quality Road), Nest (Curlin) and Western River (Tapit).

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Early Voting Gives Gun Runner First Classic Winner in Preakness

The story is a familiar one. Seth Klarman, Chad Brown and Jose Ortiz teaming up for a win with a lightly-raced colt in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. In 2016, the duo entered the Classic with a fresh horse, and played the spoiler when Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music) upended Classic Empire to take the GI Preakness S. Fast forward to 2022, history repeated itself with the same connections snagging Pimlico's marquee race with Early Voting (Gun Runner). The colt's victory also provided a well-deserved birthday gift for his owner, who grew up three blocks from Pimlico.

“I just wanted to say how happy I am to deliver a Classic victory to one of my best friends, Seth Klarman, on his birthday,” said Brown. “It's really memorable for me.”

Klarman was also cognizant, and appreciative, of the forces propelling him back into the winner's circle on Preakness day.

“Cloud Computing was a once in a lifetime horse and now I have it twice in a lifetime which is really hard to believe it could happen again,” he said. “Only with Chad.”

Armagnac (Quality Road), a front-running winner in his most recent start at Santa Anita, didn't alter the script and went straight to the front as Ortiz opted to ease Early Voting back to second, rather than contending for supremacy, about two lengths behind. Meanwhile, favored Epicenter (Not This Time) broke cleanly but was soon pinched back by the converging duo of Happy Jack (Oxbow) and Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator), costing the favorite valuable ground. Also encountering issues early, Secret Oath (Arrogate) was also affected by the errant Happy Jack, forcing her to take up position at the back of the field going into the first turn. With the frontrunner gifted a soft :24.32 opening quarter, Ortiz opted to keep the 5-1 chance in close contact as they carved out a slightly faster half in :47.44. A motionless Ortiz, who peeked under his shoulder to see who might be coming along, finally nudging the colt into action, taking over from the fading leader turning for home. In control from there, the colt had plenty left in the tank despite drifting outward, and while Epicenter mounted a gallant run up along the inside late, he was unable to get closer than 1 1/4 lengths to the winner at the wire. Creative Minister (Creative Cause), who was supplemented to the race for $150,000, closed to be 2 1/4 lengths back in third. The filly, sent off at 5-1 facing the boys, crossed the wire in fourth.

It was the second win on the afternoon for triumvirate after Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) won the GIII Gallorette S.

“Yeah, he is a very good horse out of the gate,” explained Ortiz. “He always has been. He broke well, and that was the main thing. Break good and go forward. We knew that Armagnac had speed, and he never has passed a horse on his right, and we knew he was probably going to go into the lead, and he did, but we were ready for it. We executed the plan perfectly.”

“On the back side, it just felt like we had been drilling in the morning. We had been working him just next to a horse, and he was very relaxed. I was very confident passing the 5/8 pole. I knew I was in a good spot. I took a peek back. Nobody was there. I knew my horse was ready.

He added, “I had the trip I wanted. We planned it out, we executed it with perfection, and we came out top.”

Recipe for Success
In front for most of the way, Early Voting came home a 1 1/2-length winner in his Dec. 18 debut before returning to the South Ozone Park oval with a front-running score in the GIII Withers S. going nine furlongs in the mud Feb. 5. Well supported for the Apr. 9 GII Wood Memorial, the bay had to settle for second behind Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), who got up in the nick of time to catch him at the wire.

“When we've been working the horse We give him a target, and he rates nice. He catches them and finishes them off well,” said Brown, explaining the colt's latest defeat. “I was convinced in the Wood that he was waiting on horses which is why he got beat. He got beat by a good horse, don't get me wrong, with a good trip, but when you are doing this long enough, you can tell a tired horse from a horse that's waiting on horses. And I can see it in his work sometimes as well.”

Explaining the decision to bypass the Kentucky Derby with both of his Preakness winners, Brown explained, “With both horses it's important to know that they were coming out of the Wood, so [we gave] them time. But they're lightly-raced horses. It's not like a horse that we gave time out of the Wood that also had three starts at two and it's their sixth or seventh [lifetime] start. This a lightly-raced horse. In both cases, the Wood was only their third start.”

He continued, “So when you start participating in the Kentucky Derby enough now, you realize what a tough race it is with 20 horses. As the trainer, you have to deal with the aftermath when it doesn't work out. And sometimes, it's not pretty. Those horses need time physically or mentally, and it can really cost a good part of your 3-year-old year if you swing and miss. You could ship all the way over there or draw terrible weather. You name it..I haven't won the [Derby], but we've had a couple of close calls, and I'm a student of it. I feel like you have to have a horse with some experience, and you have to be prepared for a bad post or a bump here or there or a wet track or something.

This horse just didn't have the experience. He is out there on loose leads. He didn't have dirt in his face really. A nice horse, but to throw him in a 20-horse field would not have worked out well for him, I don't believe. It really wasn't that hard of a decision.”

Looking down the road, Brown hopes to have the colt ready to add another Classic later this summer, this time in his neck of the woods.

“[We'll aim for] a race like the [GI] Travers S. [at Saratoga],” said Brown. “I know it's a tick farther, but I don't believe he will have any trouble getting the mile and a quarter. Growing up just 20 minutes from Saratoga, Baltimore native, that was his race today, the Travers would be for me, so that would be really at the top of the list. But there will be some racing before that. We'll get him back to Belmont, assess him, train him a bit, and then start to map out a campaign that, hopefully, leads us to the Midsummer Derby.”

New York, New York
While repeating a Preakness victory for his connections, Early Voting also mirrored the feat accomplished by Cloud Computing in the 2016 renewal of the Classic race. And both colts employed a similar road to victory. While Early Voting took his first two starts, including his initial graded appearance in the Withers, Cloud Computing won his Big A debut, but was runner-up in that season's GIII Gotham S. before finishing third in the Wood. However, despite the subtle differences, both colts sought a Preakness win through the Empire State.

“Cloud Computing was another horse that wintered up [in New York],” he said. “Not only did both of them run in the Wood, but they didn't even go to Florida. It can be done, and I think it just depends on the horse and always just being aware of your environment where you are training these horses, and New York is a good environment.”

Underscoring why remaining in New York over the winter was the right move for his colt, Brown was pragmatic.

“He stayed in New York because he is that kind of make-up,” he said. “He was lightly raced. I didn't want to interrupt his schedule. Sometimes you ship horses down to Florida that are just getting started, and then you have to adjust to ironically the humidity and heat and such when he is just getting going. The weather looked good, so I left him there.”

No 'I' in Team
The relationship between Ortiz and Brown goes far back, and is laden with victory. However, according to Brown, it is the work ethic between professionals that makes the partnership special.

“He rode Zandon [Upstart] in New Orleans [third in the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds Feb. 19], and he had ridden Early Voting, in the Withers. [They were both scheduled to run on the same day in the [GI Toyota] Blue Grass [S.] and the Wood Memorial [both Apr. 9], I just chose he is going to go ride Early Voting, and I made a change on Zandon [to Flavien Prat]. So I called him to tell him, and he never complained about it. He said, 'Boss, I'll go where you tell me to go.' That's it. He was happy to ride Early Voting. It's hard to be taken off Zandon when they're on the same day because we knew that horse was probably going to go win the Blue Grass and go to the [Kentucky] Derby as one of the favorites. That's how he is. He said, 'I'll go where you tell me to go.'”

Brown continued, “He didn't win the Wood, but it was our feeling that's his horse. He went there for us that day, and I felt that's going to remain his horse. It was never even a thought after the horse got beat to make a change. He went up there and rode him for us, and he rode him brilliantly. Talk about being a team player.”

“I saw the relationship developing with those two. I wasn't sure he was a Derby horse, but I was sure he was a good horse and a Grade I horse. I just know that's a partnership that I want to continue growing, developing that horse, and then I could figure out where I am with Zandon. That's really what it came down to.”

Pedigree Notes:
Gun Runner, the runaway leading first-crop sire based at Three Chimneys, continued the same trend in 2022, leading his U.S.-based contemporaries in worldwide earnings. With Early Voting's Classic win at Pimlico Saturday, the colt became the fifth Grade I winner for the Three Chimneys stallion.
His unraced dam–a $1.75-million KEESEP yearling in 2013–is a full-sister to 2017 GII Blue Grass S. winner and MGISP Irap (Tiznow), as well as a half-sister to champion and leading sire Speightstown (Gone West). They all stem from Canadian champion Silken Cat, tracing back to 1950 Broodmare of the Year Hildene (Bubbling Over), Silken Cat's fifth dam. Amour d'Ete has a 2-year-old full-sister to Early Voting, a yearling filly by Constitution, and was bred back to Volatile. Amour d'Ete's pensioned sire, Tiznow, is the broodmare sire of 52 black-type winners, including 2020 Classic winner Tiz the Law (Constitution).

Saturday, Pimlico
PREAKNESS S.-GI, $1,650,000, Pimlico, 5-21, 3yo, 1 3/16m, 1:54.54, ft.
1–EARLY VOTING, 126, c, 3, by Gun Runner
               1st Dam: Amour d'Ete, by Tiznow
               2nd Dam: Silken Cat, by Storm Cat
               3rd Dam: Silken Doll, by Chieftain
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($200,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $990,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0,
$1,311,500. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Epicenter, 126, c, 3, Not This Time–Silent Candy, by Candy
Ride (Arg). ($260,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Winchell
Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Westwind Farms (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen. $330,000.
3–Creative Minister, 126, c, 3, Creative Cause–Tamboz, by
Tapit. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1
BLACK TYPE. ($180,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Fern Circle
Stables, Back Racing, LLC and Magdalena Racing; B-Dell
Ridge Farm, LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $181,500.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2 1/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 5.70, 1.20, 10.00.
Also Ran: Secret Oath, Skippylongstocking, Simplification, Armagnac, Happy Jack, Fenwick.
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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