SARATOGA SPRINGS – As a downpour of rain and a brief lightning delay sent fans heading for cover Saturday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course, Chad Brown was smiling.
As has been the case for Brown during his run of dominance in Saratoga’s Grade 1 Diana Stakes that’s now lasted for more than a decade, things worked out just the way the trainer from Mechanicville wanted.
“When there’s some give in the ground and my horses can get their toe in, they really accelerate – no matter where they’re positioned,” Brown said. “It’s just the way I train. Especially with high-quality turf horses, that’s what they really want to do. … I was very pleased when it started raining today.”
The rain, which began around 12:30 p.m. as the horses for the first race were headed to the track and had subsided by post time for the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana just after 3 p.m., resulted in the Saratoga turf course being listed as a yielding surface. That played perfectly for Brown, as his trainee Kathynmarissa made a late run to nip stablemate Segesta by a half-length for the win.
Not only was it Brown’s record 11th win in the 1 ⅛-mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares, and his 10th Diana win in the last 11 years, but with Portfolio Duration taking third, it also marked the third time that Brown swept the trifecta in the Diana.
“To have a 1-2-3 in this race, a race we have a lot of success in, I give a lot of credit to my team,” said Brown, whose fourth entrant, Dynamic Pricing, was fifth in the seven-horse field. “It takes a lot of different tasks daily, executed perfectly, to bring the horses into the Diana every year, and they do it.”
Heading into the Diana, post-time favorite Kathynmarissa was the only one of Brown’s four entrants without a Grade 1 victory on her resume. That changed as Ortiz coolly piloted the daughter of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah past pacesetter Segesta and jockey Dylan Davis in the final strides.
“She gave me a great turn of foot,” Ortiz said. “Segesta got very good fractions early on and she was able to run on for second, but Kathynmarissa was very good today.”
Kathynmarissa made the first 10 starts of her career for trainer Rick Dutrow before being transferred to Brown’s stewardship by owner Michael Dubb last year. Kathynmarissa has now won three of her four starts since being moved to Brown’s barn.
“(Dubb) mentioned the Diana when he moved her to me,” Brown said, “He said, ‘A race like the Diana would be my dream if we could get here.’ Sure enough, we got here.”
The top non-Brown finisher was Cathedral, who edged Dynamic Pricing in a photo finish for fourth. Ozara and Five G rounded out the field.
The Good Life wins for Huerter, spoils Powerline’s debut
Thunder and lightning rumbled over the track as the field turned for home in Saturday’s first race, but on the ground, it was a rumbling The Good Life who stole the thunder from a debuting Powerline.
The 6-furlong dirt maiden race for 2-year-olds had plenty of hype behind it thanks to the presence of Powerline, a son of undefeated star Flightline who was purchased at auction for $1.8 million last year. Instead, it was The Good Life who made a dynamic debut of his own.
Ridden by Manny Franco for trainer Brad Cox, The Good Life set a speedy tempo and easily pulled away for a 3 ½-length win. Powerline, who didn’t break well and got bumped hard by Johnny Hockey at the top of the stretch, could only manage second.
Detroit Pistons guard and Shenendehowa High graduate Kevin Huerter is a co-owner of The Good Life through WinStar Farm, and celebrated the victory in the winner’s circle before quickly retreating to his box seat in the clubhouse as the rain intensified.
The thunder and lightning led to a brief delay on the card, with post times pushed back by about 20 minutes for the remainder of the card.
Cy Fair wins Coronation Cup
In the other stakes race on Saturday’s card, the Grade 3 Coronation Cup, heavily favored Cy Fair sat just off the pace set by Sapphire Beach and surged past in the stretch to pick up the win in the $225,000 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies.
John Velazquez was the winning jockey for trainer George Weaver.
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This article originally published at Kathynmarissa extends Chad Brown’s dominance in Saratoga’s Diana Stakes.
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