Barn Tour: Brown updates his deeply talented stable

As summer winds down and the Breeders’ Cup World Championships begin to come into view, trainer Chad Brown usually can point to a potentially loaded lineup. Not this time.

“We are a little light as far as definite prospects for the Breeders’ Cup this year,” said Brown, whose streak of four consecutive Eclipse Awards was ended by Brad Cox last season.

Not that Brown is without talent. His five-win eruption on Wednesday marked the biggest day for a trainer at Saratoga Race Course since Todd Pletcher captured that many races on Aug. 30, 2004. It also seemingly put his deep operation in control in what had been an uphill climb to overtake Mike Maker for the training title, an honor Brown covets since he grew up in nearby Mechanicville, N.Y.

Brown spoke with Horse Racing Nation for a Barn Tour feature, highlighted by three current Breeders’ Cup candidates:

Domestic Spending. This 4-year-old gelding is the star, and there is no close second. He bagged two Grade 1 victories, taking the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in May and then the Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park in June before missing by a neck to Two Emmys in the Aug. 14 Mr. D Stakes (G1) at Arlington Park. Domestic Spending’s chances in that race were compromised by a lack of pace. Brown: “Right now, I’m leaning toward training the horse up to the Breeders’ Cup. There is a small chance I could run him in the (Oct. 9) Joe Hirsch (G1). I want to see how he’s training. He did come back from Arlington in good shape.”

Raging Bull. Peter Brant’s 6-year-old is on course to take another shot at the Breeders’ Cup Mile despite a disappointing 10th-place result last year. He has much to prove after faltering in sixth in the Aug. 14 Fourstardave (G1). Brown: “I’m going to draw a line through the last race. I just feel the last two years he’s grown a dislike for this turf course. It’s two years in a row he did that on me and came back good after those races.” Although slight consideration is being given to the Keeneland Turf Mile (G1), Raging Bull most likely will train up to the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. He won his lone start there, in the Hollywood Derby (G1) in December 2018.

Tribhuvan. This 5-year-old gelding likely will be bound for the season-ending championships if he provides the solid performance that is expected from him on Saturday in the Sword Dancer (G1) at Saratoga. It will be his fourth start in a campaign in which victories in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G2) and the United Nations (G1) were sandwiched around a good runner-up effort in the Manhattan Stakes. The United Nations was particularly impressive. Tribhuvan rolled gate to wire en route to a comfortable two-length score in which he was ridden out by jockey Flavien Prat.

Miles D. This well-regarded son of Curlin wades into the deep waters of the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) on Saturday after falling 1 3/4 lengths short to fellow Travers starter Dynamic One in the Curlin Stakes in only his third career start. Brown: “He’s going to have to take a huge step forward, and we’d have to see a bit of a regression from Essential Quality for him to even have a chance. But it’s horse racing, and we’re going to take our shot.”

My Sister Nat. She placed second in the Flower Bowl (G1) last year and tries again in that race next Saturday as a 6-year-old. Owned by Peter Brant, she lagged a distant second to War Like Goddess in the Glens Falls Stakes (G2) in her most recent start, trailing by 3 1/4 lengths. Brown: “It’s going to be a tall order if War Like Goddess runs back in there. She was super impressive in the Glens Falls, but we’ll have to try her again.”

Flavius. This 6-year-old by War Front is bound for Kentucky Downs. The ridgling will look to defend his title in the Tourist Mile Stakes (G3).

Search Results. Brown decided that he had seen enough after a third-place showing in the Test (G1). Search Results will be given time off to prepare to show what can be accomplished at 4. Brown: “She was in full training really since last fall. I just felt like we’re approaching 12 straight months in training with this horse and I really want her for next year. I didn’t see a clear race I wanted to shoot for in the fall, so I decided to pull the plug and give her a break and let her re-charge her batteries.”

Value Proposition. This 5-year-old ridgling is not likely to resurface until the fall. Although he has hit the board eight times in 10 tries with four victories, he has been a bit of an exercise in frustration, losing a shoe when he came in third in the Aug. 7 Lure. Brown: “It would be nice to see this horse break through with a real graded stakes-winning performance.”

Brown is eagerly anticipating the development of three 2-year-olds that won their debuts at Saratoga – Key Point, McKulick and Portfolio Company. He plans to run Key Point, a son of Into Mischief, in the Oct. 2 Champagne Stakes (G1). Key Point made an auspicious start on dirt when he completed six furlongs in 1:10.89 on Aug. 12 at Saratoga. McKulick, a daughter of Frankel, and Porfolio Company, a Kitten’s Joy colt, launched their careers on turf. Look for McKulick to step up to graded-stakes company in the Oct. 9 Miss Grillo Stakes (G2).