Diana Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Brown Prepares Lemista, Pocket Square For Diana At Saratoga

Trainer Chad Brown breezed a number of horses over the Belmont Park inner turf on Sunday morning, including Lemista and Pocket Square who are both on target for the $500,000 Grade 1 Diana on July 17 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The pair of Diana aspirants worked five furlongs in company with Lemista completing her work in bullet time of 1:01.80 outside of Pocket Square, who finished off in 1:01.89.

Owned by Peter Brant, Lemista earned a 100 Beyer in her North American debut in the Grade 3 Beaugay on May 8 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., finishing a late-closing second to Harvey's Lil Goil. The 4-year-old daughter of 2008 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Raven's Pass was a Group 2 winner three starts back at the Curragh over yielding going.

Juddmonte Farm's Pocket Square, a Group 3 winner in France, was impressive in her North American debut on April 7 at Keeneland and subsequently was fifth as the lukewarm favorite in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game on June 5 at Belmont.

“They both worked well with one another and are going to the Diana,” Brown said. “Lemista has relished the time in between her races. With Pocket Square, I'm drawing a line through the Just a Game. She was lined up so well going into that race and there were things I was hopeful she would be able to overcome, but it didn't quite work out.”

Brown has won the Diana six times, including the past five editions with talented turf distaffers Dacita [2016], Lady Eli [2017], Sistercharlie [2018-19], and Rushing Fall [2020].

On Saturday, Brown sent out Michael Ryan, Jeff Drown, and Team Hanley's Higher Truth for her stakes debut in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, finishing a close third, beaten a half-length to Santa Barbara.

Brown said the daughter of the late Galileo will target the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational on August 8.

“I thought she ran well. I was proud of her effort,” Brown said. “It looked like she was in for a good chance late in the race and picked up a piece of it at the end. We'll probably move on to the next leg [of the Turf Triple series].”

Higher Truth arrived at the Belmont Oaks off two starts at ten furlongs, breaking her maiden by a half-length over the inner turf on April 22 before defeating winners on June 10.

“She's had three mile and a quarter races in a row, so she's gained a lot of experience and fitness,” Brown said. “I think down the road, she'll be able to run even further.”

Brown said he could have at least two fillies for the Saratoga Oaks as Rocky Sky, previously considered for the Belmont Oaks, opted to wait for the second leg.

Owned by Peter Brant, Rocky Sky is a two-time winner in her native Ireland, capturing the ten-furlong Salsabil last out on April 25.

“We thought she would benefit from more time going into the Saratoga Oaks, so that's where she's headed to,” said Brown.

Brown said recent allowance optional claiming winner Amy C will target the $150,000 Grade 3 Lake George, a one-mile inner turf test for sophomore fillies on July 13 at the Spa.

Owned by Madaket Stable, Michael Dubb, and Robert V. LaPenta, the 3-year-old daughter of Charming Thought broke her maiden in March at Deauville before shipping to North America.

“It was a nice first time from out of the country for us. It seems like she's ready for a stakes now,” Brown said.

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Appleby To Start Althiqa, Summer Romance In Diana Stakes At Saratoga

Trainer Charlie Appleby enjoyed a one-two finish with Althiqa and Summer Romance in the $500,000 Grade 1 Longines Just a Game Stakes on June 5 going one mile on turf for fillies and mares at Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny.

On Saturday, the 4-year-old fillies breezed solo on the Belmont inner turf with Althiqa covering the distance in :48.66 and Summer Romance in :49.45 in preparation for the nine-furlong $500,000 Grade 1 Diana Stakes on July 17 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, Ny.

“They went solo yesterday just to get back on the grass and give them a little blowout,” said traveling assistant Sophie Chretien. “They both went very well and they're very happy.”

Summer Romance, with Luis Saez up, set a sharp pace in the Just a Game, but could not stay off the late run of Althiqa, under Hall of Famer Mike Smith.

“They ran one-two. You can't do better unless you dead heat,” said Chretien, with a laugh.

Chretien said Summer Romance may have had the tougher assignment last out and will benefit from the added distance at Saratoga.

“Althiqa came from behind and the other was in front, and Althiqa is a pure miler,” said Chretien. “Maybe Summer was a bit too fresh, but that's racing. Longer might be better for Summer.”

Two more Appleby-trained Godolphin runners will arrive at Belmont next Sunday with Secret Protector to target the $1 million Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational and Creative Flair on point for the $700,000 Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational. The 10-furlong first legs of the Turf Triple series are slated for July 10.

Creative Flair, by Dubawi, won the 10-furlong Abingdon Stakes on June 10 at Newbury Racecourse in Newbury, England, while Secret Protector, by War Front, arrives from a third to Mohaafeth in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes on June 17 at Ascot Racecourse, also in England.

“The colt was with me in Dubai. He came into the year in February with a win at Meydan and was promising,” said Chretien. “He's a lovely colt and he just finished third in a good Ascot race and the one that won was really nice.”

Chretien said if Secret Protector can handle the quick turnaround and travel time, he should be a factor.

“If he travels well, and he should as he's quite a relaxed horse, then it should be fine,” said Chretien. “I believe he came back well from his race and he's a genuine horse. Ten furlongs will be perfect for him.”

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‘She Knows How To Win’: Rushing Fall Gives Brown Fifth Consecutive Diana Triumph

Trainer Chad Brown continued his domination in the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana, watching as 7-5 favorite Rushing Fall ran down pace setter Mean Mary approaching the stretch and held off her rival by a neck on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Brown won the 1 1/8-mile turf contest for older fillies and mares for the fifth consecutive year and record sixth overall as e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Rushing Fall was forwardly placed by Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano, who kept her just off Mean Mary in second position through the opening quarter-mile in 23.60 seconds, the half in 48.38 and three-quarters in 1:11.90 on the firm inner turf course.

Out of the final turn, Rushing Fall made a strong move to challenge Mean Mary from the outside, with the rivals dueling in the straightaway before Rushing Fall gained the slight edge and hit the wire in 1:45.88, capturing her third consecutive graded stakes victory.

“The plan was to go to the lead. I broke out of the gate and tried to send to dictate the pace, but Mean Mary never took up and tried to take the lead,” Castellano said. “I tried to ride smart, it's a mile and an eighth and I thought it was smarter to save something for the end. Today, we were very fortunate.

“I rode her like she was the best filly in the race,” he added. “She's very tactical. She doesn't have to be on the lead, she can come from behind also, but I didn't see much other speed in the race, so we tracked the other filly every single step of the way and when I asked her, she responded. She knows how to win. I'm so lucky to ride her because she's one of the best fillies I've rode in my life.”

Rushing Fall notched her sixth career Grade 1 victory and won for the 11th time in 14 career starts overall and has been a Grade 1-winner at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The 5-year-old More Than Ready mare, who won the 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, improved to 3-for-3 in 2020, adding to her scores in the Grade 3 Beaugay in June at Belmont Park and the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley last month at Keeneland.

Brown won the Diana's previous two editions with Sistercharlie, who defeated Rushing Fall by 1 3/4 lengths last year to give their trainer the exacta. On Sunday, Rushing Fall won for the second time in three career starts at the Spa, returning $4.80 on a $2 win wager and improving her career earnings to $2.55 million.

“It means a lot. This is a very important race that we point for every year and we've been fortunate through the years to have horses that really fit,” said Brown, who also won the Diana with Lady Eli [2017], Dacita [2016] and Zagora [2011]. “She's a great horse and she ran a super race today.”

Brown praised Rushing Fall's superlative 2020 campaign after finishing fourth in the Grade 1 First Lady in October at Keeneland.

“She knows how to win. She's a remarkable horse,” Brown said. “This is a horse that has won Grade 1s in four straight years. This is very rare company to do this. She's a horse of a lifetime for anybody – for an owner, for a trainer, for racing. We're very fortunate that [owner] Bob Edwards put her back in training. Her last race of the year last year was not good, she's worth a lot of money and they could easily have sold her and bred her. They gave her the time off and we sent her down to Stonestreet in Ocala like we do every winter where they do a fantastic job and then my team got a hold of her and took it from there. They executed like they always have, and the filly really came through. She's special.”

Alex G. Campbell, Jr.'s Mean Mary, the 2-1 second choice, finished 2 ½ lengths ahead of Sistercharlie for second. That marked the sixth time trainer Graham Motion has saddled the Diana runner-up, adding to a string of near-misses that includes Ultra Brat losing by a nose to Sistercharlie in 2018 and Quidura [2017], Shared Account [2010], and Sweet Talker [2006] all losing by a head. Aruna was beaten 1 ½ lengths for second in 2011.

“I got nice fractions early and then at the half-mile we started to get going,” said Mean Mary jockey Luis Saez. “Everyone came to me and she fought them. She got beat running.”

Sistercharlie, the 2018 Eclipse Award winner as Champion Turf Female, saw her bid to become the first three-peat winner of the Diana thwarted but still finished in third to earn blacktype for the 15th consecutive start. Brown said he's hopeful the effort prepares her for a return engagement in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 7 at Keeneland.

“I thought she took a nice step forward towards the Breeders' Cup today,” Brown said. “This course is very speed-favoring. It's hard to imagine a scenario, no matter what the pace is, where she is going to be able to make up that much ground. It's just the way it's played all meet.

“I can see her rounding into form right at the right time,” he added. “I was disappointed that she wasn't right there at the wire but not discouraged that can't get on track for the Breeders' Cup. It's a good step forward.”

Starship Jubilee and Call Me Love completed the order of finish. Secret Message, also conditioned by Motion, was scratched at the gate.

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Saratoga with a nine-race card that features the $85,000 Mahony for sophomores going 5 ½ furlongs on turf in Race 7 at 4:12 p.m. First post is 12:50 p.m with an allowance steeplechase race.

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Rushing Fall All Heart As Brown Wins Fifth Straight Diana

Star turf mare Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) avenged a loss as the favorite in last year’s GI Diana S. Sunday at Saratoga, wearing down pacesetting Mean Mary (Scat Daddy) in a thrilling stretch duel to earn her sixth Grade I victory. The win also gave trainer Chad Brown a remarkable fifth consecutive score in the Diana and sixth overall.

Named a ‘TDN Rising Star’ for her impressive debut victory at Belmont three seasons ago, the e Five Racing Thoroughbreds colorbearer backed that up with a victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Reeling off a trio of Grade I triumphs in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S., Longines Just A Game S. and Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. from fall of 2018 to last spring, she couldn’t quite go with champion stablemate Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) when runner-up in last year’s Diana. Producing her only dud thus far with a fourth in the GI First Lady S. to close out her 4-year-old campaign, the bay bounced back with a conquest of the GIII Beaugay S. in her seasonal bow before a successful, course-record-setting title defense in the Jenny Wiley last out.

Favored per usual, though not by a large margin as Mean Mary attracted robust interest as the close second choice, Rushing Fall broke sharply following a gate delay that resulted in the late scratch of longshot Secret Message (Hat Trick {Jpn}). Allowing her main rival to go on with it heading into the clubhouse turn under Javier Castellano, the multimillionaire traveled in a clear second up the backstretch behind modest fractions of :23.60 and :48.38. Moving up to the leader’s flank as the quintet bunched up through three-quarters in 1:11.90, she drew on even terms nearing the lane and the top pair sped away from the other three soon after straightening for home. Sticking her nose in front for the first time at the sixteenth pole, Rushing Fall narrowly did the better work from there and struck the wire a head to the good, securing her 11th success in 14 career trips to the post. It was 2 1/2 lenghts back to Sistercharlie in third.

“She knows how to win. She’s a remarkable horse,” Brown said. “This is a horse that has won Grade Is in four straight years. This is very rare company to do this. She’s a horse of a lifetime for anybody–for an owner, for a trainer, for racing. We’re very fortunate that [e Five’s] Bob Edwards put her back in training. Her last race of the year last year was not good, she’s worth a lot of money and they could easily have sold her and bred her. They gave her the time off and we sent her down to Stonestreet in Ocala like we do every winter where they do a fantastic job and then my team got a hold of her and took it from there. They executed like they always have, and the filly really came through. She’s special.”

The final running time of 1:45.88 represented the third-fastest clocking in the 82-year history of the Diana, behind Hard Not to Like (Hard Spun)’s 1:45.22 in 2015 and Hall of Famer Waya (Fr) (Faraway Son)’s 1:45.40 in 1978.

“The plan was to go to the lead,” Castellano said. “I broke out of the gate and tried to send to dictate the pace, but Mean Mary never took up and tried to take the lead. I tried to ride smart, it’s a mile and an eighth and I thought it was smarter to save something for the end. Today, we were very fortunate. I rode her like she was the best filly in the race. She’s very tactical. She doesn’t have to be on the lead, she can come from behind also, but I didn’t see much other speed in the race, so we tracked the other filly every single step of the way and when I asked her, she responded. She knows how to win. I’m so lucky to ride her because she’s one of the best fillies I’ve rode in my life.”

“It means a lot,” Brown added of his fifth straight Diana win. “This is a very important race that we point for every year and we’ve been fortunate through the years to have horses that really fit. She’s a great horse and she ran a super race today.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of 203 stakes winners, 91 graded stakes winners and 24 Grade I winners for More Than Ready, Rushing Fall is the third black-type performer out of Autumnal, a $260,000 purchase at Keeneland November in 2007. The 18-year-old mare, a full-sister to GSP Sisti’s Pride out of GSP Marie J, produced a full-brother to Rushing Fall Mar. 24. Third dam In My cap was a five-time stakes winner in Canada and is responsible for the dam of GISW Albert the Great (Go for Gin). This is also the female family of recent GIII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. winner Night Ops (Warrior’s Reward).

Sunday, Saratoga
DIANA S.-GI, $485,000, Saratoga, 8-23, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8mT, 1:45.88, fm.
1–RUSHING FALL, 124, m, 5, by More Than Ready
              1st Dam: Autumnal, by Forestry
                2nd Dam: Marie J, by Mr. Prospector
                3rd Dam: In My Cap, by Vice Regent
‘TDN Rising Star’ ($320,000 Ylg ’16 FTSAUG). O-e Five Racing
   Thoroughbreds; B-Fred W. Hertrich III & John D. Fielding (KY);
   T-Chad C. Brown; J-Javier Castellano. $275,000. Lifetime
   Record: 14-11-2-0, $2,553,000. *1/2 to Milam (Street Sense),
   SW & MGSP, $239,651. Werk Nick Rating: B.
   Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Mean Mary, 120, f, 4, by Scat Daddy
                1st Dam: Karlovy Vary, by Dynaformer
                2nd Dam: The Right Pew, by Pulpit
                3rd Dam: Packet, by Polish Navy
O-Alex G. Campbell, Jr.; B-Alex G. Campbell, Jr. Thoroughbreds,
LLC (KY); T-H. Graham Motion. $100,000.
3–Sistercharlie (Ire), 124, m, 6, by Myboycharlie (Ire)
                1st Dam: Starlet’s Sister (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Premiere Creation (Fr), by Green Tune
                3rd Dam: Allwaki, by Miswaki
(€12,000 Ylg ’15 AR15). O-Peter M. Brant; B-Ecurie Des
Monceaux (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown. $60,000.
Margins: NK, 2HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.40, 2.10, 3.25.
Also Ran: Starship Jubilee, Call Me Love (GB). Scratched: Secret Message. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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