Brown chases Breeders' Cup history with a strong hand

Winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf for a fourth time would give Chad Brown more wins than any other trainer in the race, and Breeders’ Cup 2018 pre-entries announced this week revealed he is coming into the race with another strong hand. 

Brown is currently tied with Sir Michael Stoute, as both trainers have three wins. It was only two years ago when Stoute-trained Queen’s Trust upset Brown’s star Lady Eli by a nose.

Among the five Brown pre-entered in the Filly & Mare Turf, Sistercharlie appears to be his strongest play. An Irish-bred mare who raced in France, Sistercharlie strung together a series of Grade 1 wins this season in the Jenny Wiley, the Diana and the Beverly D. She’ll be the best bet for the U.S. runners to bring home another victory after Europeans have won the last two years.

Fourstar Crook is another consistent runner for the Brown stable that will likely be competitive and enters off her first career Grade 1 win.

“Fourstar Crook and Sistercharlie, they went up against each other a little bit this year,” Brown said. “They’re two horses that we’ve been really pointing to this race, this mile and three-eighths distance. Both of them seem to be coming into the race very well.”

The New York-bred mare finished second to Sistercharlie in both the Jenny Wiley and Beverly D. Fourstar Crook beat her stablemate in the New York Stakes (G2) and, with Sistercharlie away, finally notched her well-earned score in the Flower Bowl (G1).

Brown also pre-entered A Raving Beauty, who is cross-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. The German import has two Grade 1 wins at a mile, winning the Just a Game on Belmont Stakes day and recently wiring the First Lady. She has a Grade 3 win at 1 1/16 miles, but is venturing into “uncharted territory” if she runs in the Filly & Mare Turf, her first preference.

“A Raving Beauty, the mile and three-eighth distance, it’s a bit of a tall order for her,” Brown said. “It was another sort of last-minute decision. She got an all-expenses paid berth into the race with a ‘Win and You’re In’ and that was one factor. We don’t have much to lose to at least try it. It’s going to be a long distance for her to get, but if the pace is right and she gets away easy and relaxes well, her class might take her that far.

Brown said that while the Mile remains an option for A Raving Beauty, he's concerned about running her against colts, even though that appears to be a better distance.

Santa Monica was a last-minute pre-entry decision, but the Grade 2 winner also has a chance to improve her resume with a shot at the Breeders’ Cup.

“With Santa Monica, we weren’t really sure if we were going to end up in the Breeders’ Cup,” Brown said, “and we thought the E.P. Taylor was a better spot for her because she’s had success at Woodbine before and she’s yet to win a Grade 1. She ran a really good race and she was a little compromised with an inside trip and was blocked a little bit.”

Even though she still didn’t pick up her Grade 1 in the E.P Taylor, her third-place finish was enough to convince connections to pre-enter the Breeders’ Cup, and Brown will take a closer look at the field now that Santa Monica made it in. The mare won the Dance Smartly (G2) at Woodbine over the summer and ran second in the Glen Falls (G2) at Saratoga.

Rounding out Brown’s Filly & Mare Turf contenders is Thais, who completed the Brown trifecta in the Beverly D.

“Thais showed that she’s a quality horse that was put in the Beverly D. to set a reasonable pace for Sistercharlie but was good enough to hang on for a piece, really not beaten that far,” Brown said. “With Thais, she’s in there to make sure the pace is honest but with an outside chance to grab a piece of this race.”

Although the Brown contingent will likely star in the Filly & Mare Turf, it is Enable that will have the spotlight in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Brown’s lone Turf entry, Robert Bruce, will be running in Enable’s shadow with the U.S. not producing a major male turf standout for this race.

“That’s obviously exciting to have her come over and participate in the Breeders’ Cup, but a tall order to actually run against her,” Brown said of Enable. “We need a lot of things to go our way. The first thing for Robert Bruce would be firm turf, that would really help his chances.”

Already a multiple Group 1 winner in his native Chile, Robert Bruce transferred his talent stateside by winning the Arlington Million (G1). He was second last out in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) behind Channel Maker, who led gate to wire.

Another major contender in Brown’s stable is Complexity, who leads the East Coast horses in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He’s won his two starts so far, including the Champagne (G1), and will get his first two-turn test at 1 1/16 miles in the Breeders’ Cup. With how the colt is training, Brown suspects the two turns won’t be a problem A solid performance could land Complexity as an early Kentucky Derby 2019 contender.

“Complexity’s a really remarkable talent,” Brown said. “He’s obviously very fast. He’s just a very efficient mover. He switches off nicely for the rider, both in the morning and afternoon.”

Brown’s other Breeders’ Cup pre-entries are Wow Cat (Distaff), Analyze It (Mile), Almanaar (Mile also-eligible), Standard Deviation (Juvenile) and Newspaperofrecord (Juvenile Fillies Turf).