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Sistercharlie Shooting For Third Straight Diana

The list of horses that have won the GI Diana S. on multiple occasions reads like a veritable horse racing Hall of Fame: Miss Grillo, Tempted, Shuvee, Glowing Honor and Forever Together have all accomplished the feat. Peter Brant’s Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) can ascend to the top of that classy heap as she goes for the three-peat Sunday afternoon at Saratoga, but a fait accompli is most certainly is not.

The 2018 champion turf female made best use of her superior turn of foot to easily defeat her stablemate and TDN Rising Star Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) in this event last summer, then became the first to win the GI Beverly D. S. back-to-back last August. The deceptively easy winner of the GI Flower Bowl S. in October, she was third in defense of her GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf title Nov. 2 and could do no better than to round out the trifecta behind Starship Jubilee (Indy Wind) and Call Me Love (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the GII Ballston Spa S. July 25.

Rushing Fall’s defeat last year was just the second of her career and while she was only fourth to Uni (GB) (More Than Ready) in the GI First Lady S. at Keeneland when forced to race off the speed, she has been dominant in two starts this term, besting Call Me Love in front-running fashion in the GIII Beaugay S. June 3 ahead of a 3/4-length success over Jolie Olimpica (Brz) (Drosselmeyer) in the GI Jenny Wiley S. in Lexington July 11, though Sunday’s nine-furlong trip remains a question mark. Her two wins at the distance came in age-restricted company in 2018.

Starship Jubilee returns to the Spa, having passed on the GII Dance Smartly S. at her Woodbine base last weekend. The former $16,000 claimer enters the Diana on a three-race streak, having annexed the GIII Suwannee River S. at Gulfstream and the GII Hillsborough S. at Tampa over the winter.

Mean Mary (Scat Daddy), five-for-seven lifetime, figures to make Rushing Fall work for it up front. The Alex Campbell homebred has not been headed in her last three trips to the race, good for victories in the 12-furlong GIII La Prevoyante S. at Gulfstream in January, the GIII Orchid S. over a mile and three furlongs Mar. 28 and a the 10-panel GII New York S. downstate June 27.

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Sistercharlie Chasing Historic Three-Peat In Grade 1 Diana

Trainer Chad Brown will enter Sunday's Grade 1, $500,000 Diana at Saratoga Race Course loaded for bear, saddling two former Breeders' Cup winners in Rushing Fall and Sistercharlie as he looks to win the race for a fifth consecutive year.

The 82nd running of the Diana for older fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the Mellon turf course will see Brown attempt his sixth win in the prestigious race, for which he has conditioned the previous four winners after first earning a victory with Zagora in 2011.

Sistercharlie has captured the last two runnings for Brown and will look to achieve a three-peat in headlining the six-horse field. The now 6-year-old daughter of Myboycharlie won the 2018 Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Female for a campaign that included her first Diana victory as well as scores in that year's Grade 1 Jenny Wiley, Grade 1 Beverly D. and Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

After ending 2018 with three straight Grade 1 wins, the Irish-bred owned by Peter Brant started 2019 with three additional victories against the highest caliber, defeating Rushing Fall by 1 ¾ lengths to repeat in the Diana before winning the Beverly D. again and adding a three-quarter length triumph in the Flower Bowl in October at Belmont Park.

All seven of Sistercharlie's North American wins have come in Grade 1s. With 10 career wins in 16 starts, she also counts a Group 3 win in the 2017 Prix Penelope in France among her accomplishments.

Sistercharlie is one of just six repeat Diana winners, joining Forever Together [2008-09]; Glowing Honor [1988-89]; Shuvee (1970-71]; Tempted [1959-60]; and Miss Grillo [1946-47]. The race, which had its first running in 1939, has never seen a horse win three straight.

“That would be an amazing accomplishment,” Brown said.

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, aboard Sistercharlie for the two Diana wins, will go for three straight, breaking from post 5.

Sistercharlie's stablemate, Rushing Fall, is a five-time Grade 1 winner, including last out when she outkicked Jolie Olimpica by three-quarters of a length to repeat in the Jenny Wiley on July 11 at Keeneland. The winner of the 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf is already Grade 1-winner at ages 2, 3, 4 and 5, including the 2018 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.

Owned by e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, Rushing Fall is 10-2-0 in 13 career starts, with her only off-the-board finish coming when fourth in the Grade 1 First Lady last October at Keeneland. The More Than Ready mare has registered triple digit Beyer Speed Figures in four of her last five starts, notching identical 103 figures for winning last year's Grade 1 Just a Game at Belmont Park and running second in the Diana. She also matched that figure in her two starts this year, winning both the Grade 3 Beaugay on June 3 at Belmont before besting an eight-horse Jenny Wiley field.

“They both seem to be training very well and coming into the race the right way. There are some nice horses in the race, so it looks like another great edition of the Diana,” Brown said.

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, a two-time Diana winner, will be in the irons from post 3.

R Unicorn Stable's Call Me Love has come close to breaking through since arriving in the United States this year from her native Europe. The English-bred filly made her first North American start in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Beaugay, running third behind the Brown-trained Diana duo, before running fourth in the Grade 2 New York just three weeks later at 1 ¼ miles over the Belmont turf.

Cutting back to 1 1/16 miles, Call Me Love was second by a neck to fellow Diana contender Starship Jubilee in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa on July 25 at Saratoga over firm turf. Clement said Sunday's distance, along with the possibility of inclement weather, could be the key if she wants to win for the first time since her last race in Europe in the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio in November in Italy.

Since the Ballston Spa, Call Me Love has breezed three times over the Oklahoma turf training track at Saratoga, including a four-furlong work in 49.11 seconds on Sunday.

“She's been training great. Not OK. Great,” Clement said. “I think the distance suits her well – a mile and a sixteenth to a mile an eighth is good for her. There might be some rain in the forecast and she's run well on softer turf before, so we're ready to go.”

Joel Rosario will ride from the inside post.

Alex G. Campbell, Jr.'s Mean Mary is undefeated as a 4-year-old, starting 3-for-3 after ending her sophomore campaign with a victory against optional claimers in December at Gulfstream Park. In 2020, the Graham Motion trainee has racked up three straight graded stakes wins, taking the Grade 3 La Prevoyante at 1 ½ miles over Gulfstream Park's turf before winning the 1 3/8-mile Grade 3 Orchid at the same track in March.

Returning off a three-month respite, the Scat Daddy filly recorded a career-best 101 Beyer for her 5 ¼-length win in the Grade 2 New York at 1 ¼ miles on June 27 at Belmont, giving her four straight victories overall.

Motion said he is anxious to see how Mean Mary handles a slight cut back as he looks towards the Grade 1, $2 million Breeder's Cup Filly and Mare Turf contested at 1 3/16 miles in November at Keeneland.

“She's been pointing to this race for a long time,” Motion said. “With the Breeders' Cup, I need to find out if she can handle these shorter distances. She certainly did before we started running her at these longer races, but not at this level. She's trained really well for this race and hasn't really missed a beat. It'll be a small but solid group of horses she's facing.”

Since running fifth in her debut in September at Laurel Park, Mean Mary has won five of six, with her second-place effort against allowance company in November at Aqueduct Racetrack marking the lone race that didn't end with a winner's circle visit.

“I'd be lying if I told you I always knew she was going to be this caliber. She's been a progression,” Motion said. “I think she really enjoys it. She gets out there and is just galloping.”

Luis Saez, aboard for her wins during the current streak, will return, drawing post 6.

Motion will also send out the 5-year-old veteran Secret Message, who ran fourth in last year's Diana and is coming off a third-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile Perfect Sting on August 14 at the Spa.

Wheeled back a week later, Motion said the Hat Trick filly, who started her 2020 with a victory in the Grade 3 Mint Julep going 1 1/16 miles in May at Churchill, has showed good energy leading into a return engagement.

“The fact that she's a big, robust filly, we felt she could handle a quick turnaround,” said Motion, who has saddled five second-place finishers in the Diana. “It's not going to be an oversized field and we feel like she's been doing really well. She really ran the last quarter-mile last weekend and really sprinted home. She sprinted home as fast as anyone.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will pick up the mount from post 2.

Blue Heaven Farm's Starship Jubilee also enters Sunday on a four-race winning streak, with all those efforts against stakes company for trainer Kevin Attard. The 7-year-old veteran is the field's most experienced entrant, compiling an 18-5-3 record in 36 starts.

Last out, Starship Jubilee bested Diana rivals Call Me Love and Sistercharlie to win the Grade 2 Ballston Spa by a neck, building on her win in the Grade 2 Hillsborough in March at Tampa Bay Downs. The daughter of Indy Wind is 4-for-4 this year, adding scores in the Grade 3 Suwannee River and the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf this winter at Gulfstream.

Jose Ortiz will pick up the call from post 4.

The Diana, Sunday's featured race, is slated as Race 8 on the nine-race card, which offers a first post at 1:10 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Jolie Olimpica to Beat in Yellow Ribbon

Fox Hill Farms’ speedy Jolie Olimpica (Brz) (Drosselmeyer), a close runner-up to division leader Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) last out, will go postward as the horse to beat in Saturday’s eight-horse GII Yellow Ribbon S. at Del Mar.

Undefeated in three starts in her native land, capping her Brazilian career with a dominant win over males in the G1 Jockey Club Brasileiro at Gavea last June, the chestnut got off to an auspicious start Stateside when annexing the GIII Las Cienegas S. going 5 1/2 furlongs Jan. 11 at Santa Anita. Getting a clear lead in the GII Buena Vista S. when stretching out to a mile Feb. 22, however, she couldn’t quite stay and settled for second. Rebounding with a score in the GII Monrovia S. back sprinting May 25, she again attempted to stretch her speed in the GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. July 11 at Keeneland and again just gave it up late, finishing a narrow second in Rushing Fall’s course-record-setting performance. Drawing outside in a field without other clear speed, she figures to get a dream trip here.

The veteran Beau Recall (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) also comes in off a runner-up finish to a division leader as she tries for a Yellow Ribbon repeat. Upset winner of last spring’s GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S., she captured this event two starts later before closing her 5-year-old account with a second in the GI Rodeo Drive S. Ninth, while only beaten 2 1/4 lengths, in the GIII Old Forester Mint Julep S. in her seasonal debut May 30 in Louisville, she most recently closed from last to complete the exacta behind wire-to-wire victress Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the GI Just A Game S. June 27 at Belmont.

Tommy Town Thoroughbreds’ Keeper Ofthe Stars (Midnight Lute) will attempt to rebound after quickly developing into a division player earlier this year. Last year’s GIII Autumn Miss S. heroine was the one who chased down Jolie Olimpica in the Buena Vista to score a 36-1 upset, then showed that effort was no fluke when taking the GI Gamely S. May 25 in Arcadia. Last time out, however, she finished a dull fifth in the June 20 GIII Wilshire S.

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Chad Brown’s First 100 Grade 1 Wins: Individual Management, Imagination Fuel Meteoric Rise

Since 1973, when the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association began designating the best American stakes as Grade 1, 2 or 3, no trainer has won his first 100 Grade 1 races – the sport's most prestigious – faster than Chad Brown.

Brown registered his first Grade 1 victory on July 30, 2011, when Zagora won the Diana at Saratoga. His 100th came less than nine years later, on July 11, 2020, when Guarana won the Madison Stakes at Keeneland. The four-time (2016-'19) Eclipse Award winner as outstanding trainer added his 101st Grade 1 win that same afternoon when Rushing Fall took the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland.

Thirty years earlier, D. Wayne Lukas put the pedal to the metal almost as quickly as Brown would do, winning his first Grade 1 with Codex in the Santa Anita Derby March 30, 1980, and crossing the 100 mark a little over nine years later. Lukas is the all-time leader by Grade 1 wins, with 219, followed by Bob Baffert, who won his first Grade 1 with Thirty Slews in the 1992 Breeders' Cup Sprint. Baffert didn't reach 100 Grade 1s until 2010, although he has been the most productive trainer at the Grade 1 level in the last decade, winning 111 in the U.S. from 2010 until the present. He is second behind Lukas, with 207.

At 41 years old, Brown is the youngest trainer to reach the century mark in Grade 1 victories.

Based on available data compiled from Equibase, only seven trainers have exceeded 100 American Grade 1 victories in their careers.

They are:

Wayne Lukas…219
Bob Baffert…207
Robert Frankel…171
Todd Pletcher…158
Charles Whittingham…138
Shug McGaughey…129
William Mott…122
Chad Brown…101

Caveats: The list does not include Grade/Group 1 victories in Dubai, Europe or Asia. Because Equibase does not list any graded stakes prior to 1976 on trainer profiles, Ron McAnally (with 94 from 1976 to present) may be the ninth trainer to make that list. For the purposes of the above list, stakes results for Charlie Whittingham from 1973-'75 were taken from the Jay Hovdey biography, “Whittingham: The Story of a Thoroughbred Racing Legend,” and added to what Equibase includes on his trainer profile page. Not included are pre-1973 races that would become Grade 1 fixtures once grading of stakes began.

Brown, a native of Mechanicville, N.Y., has come a long way in a short time since saddling his first winner, Dual Jewels, in a $5,000 claiming race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 23, 2007. His first graded stakes winner came in 2008 when Maram won the Grade 3 Miss Grillo. The filly would give Brown his first Breeders' Cup victory later that year while winning the inaugural Juvenile Fillies Turf, a race would that would become a Grade 1 in 2012. It was the first of his 15 Breeders' Cup championship races.

Brown was accustomed to working with Grade 1 winners years before he hung out his shingle as a public trainer, having worked for two Hall of Famers, Shug McGaughey and Bobby Frankel. The latter spent much of his career dominating the claiming ranks, but once he proved what he could do with good horses, there was no looking back. Frankel was voted Eclipse Awards as outstanding trainer five times (1993, 2000-'03) and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Brown was an assistant to Frankel in 2003 when the latter established an all-time record for most Grade 1 victories in a single year: 25.

“It seemed like we were winning Grade 1s every week,” said Brown, who spent time that year with Frankel strings at Hollywood Park in California and Belmont Park in New York. “We had a murderer's row of great horses, and I learned a lot. It was hard to believe all these horses were in the same barn. You try to take it all in, every day. He and Humberto (longtime Frankel assistant Humberto Ascanio) trained you to be so focused on your task every day.

“I remember Frankel carefully managing each horse individually,” Brown said. “It's where I started to learn about managing horses at the top end, how he did it on an individual basis, and recognizing how important it is to do it that way. We were winning Grade 1s on dirt, turf, long, short, male, female, young and very old. It really stuck with me to really pay attention every day, every hour, every minute.

“Bobby was a perfectionist. He set high goals for himself and had an incredible feel for horses and animals in general. The other thing with Bobby that I saw in managing horses was this: Anyone can say I wish I had that guy's or that girl's horses. But when you have them, you find out they're not all easy. With Bobby, when I say I learned so much, the one thing I feel I have in common is imagination. Bobby had an imagination to see into the future, how things were going to turn out. When you train horses at this level, that would be a common trait, that you have an imagination.

“Ghostzapper was not always a great work horse,” Brown said. “Bobby knew that this was the best horse he ever trained. He said it all the time, before that horse became who he was. I couldn't figure it out, not until the Iselin, when he finally showed how good he was.” The Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin, Ghostzapper's eighth career start and his second race at 4 when he was voted Horse of the Year, was followed by Grade 1 victories in 2004 in the Woodward, Breeders' Cup Classic and the 2005 Met Mile.

“I caught him at the perfect time,” Brown said of Frankel. “He had the best horses and he was the smartest trainer. I was a huge beneficiary.”

Fast forward to the present, where Brown has applied the many lessons learned from Frankel, who died in 2009.

“Our system, our roster of horses has been built over time to compete in all categories,” he said. “I want to be able to individually train and manage horses across the board. Frankel was very rare to be able to do that.”

Has Brown set Frankel's single-season record of 25 Grade 1 victories as a goal for his stable?

“I am a goal-oriented person, just conceptually to motivate me and my team to try and get somewhere, not for personal recognition or satisfaction,” he said. “We try to do better than in the previous year. That record did cross my mind the last two years, only because it was Bobby. When we got to the high teens, I thought we had a chance. I always thought this was a record that no one could ever hit, but then I saw a couple of scenarios: if, if, if …”

Each year Brown maxed out at 20 Grade 1 victories.

With all the disruptions to racing in 2020 from the coronavirus pandemic (including several Grade 1 races not being run), it's highly unlikely anyone will approach Frankel's record this year.

But success begets success, and Brown has a steady pipeline of high-end racing prospects and proven imports coming his way from some of the sport's leading owners.

In a sense, he's just getting warmed up.

“I'm lucky to have an amazing team,” said Brown. “We've built a talented roster of teammates, co-workers. It's pretty obvious that it's a team effort.”

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