Cafe Americano's win in Pucker Up caps big day for Brown

Edited Arlington Park release
Photo: Coady Photography

Peter Brant’s Cafe Americano was shot out of a cannon and blasted home to score in the Grade 3 Pucker Up, the last of four graded stakes races on the day, all of which were won by Chad Brown.

The 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia D’Oro was making her fourth career start and first since finishing sixth in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1). Cafe Americano sat tenth through the early stages of the race, galloping along at the back of the pack following early fractions of 23.00 and 47.64 set by Sky Freak

. After six furlongs in 1:11.84, Café Americano stills had lots of ground to make up.

In the blink of an eye, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and
Café Americano were sprinting clear of the leaders, finishing up with a final time of 1:47.72 for the 1 1/8-miles.

Café Americano’s win capped off what proved to be a historic day for Chad Brown, winning all four graded stakes including the Beverly D (G1), Secretariat (G1), and Arlington Million (G1).

“
I’m so proud of my whole team,” Brown said. “They all work so hard with these horses and its days like today that all that work pays off. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into this, and I’m surrounded by a lot of really talented people. Of course, it’s all up to the horses though and I’m so proud of them. They give me their all every single day and that’s why I do this job.”

Cafe Americano paid $7.40 to win, $4.80 to place, and $3.20 to show. Second was Princesa Carolina who paid $6.20 to win, and $3.60 to show. Third was Art of Almost
who paid $3.40 to show.

Rounding out the Grade 3 Pucker Up were Winter Sunset, Winning Envelope, Indigo Gin, Lightscameraction, Gamblin Train, Comic Kitten, Aunt Hattie, and early pace setter Sky Freak.

Read More

Breeders' Cup: White Abarrio owners seek inquiry into scratch
C2 Racing Stable and Gary Barber issued the following statement Tuesday regarding the post-parade scratch of White Abarrio...
Prospect Watch: Filly out of Kentucky Oaks winner debuts
This week's Prospect Watch showcases young horses with elite bloodlines making their debuts and early career starts across...
Fastest maidens: Pletcher unleashes Justify colt with top figure
While most attention was on the Breeders' Cup last week, several horses got their first wins in impressive...
Breeders' Cup Classic watch: Best horse meets the challenge
This is the 17th and final installment of a weekly feature exclusive to Horse Racing Nation tracking the...
Tuesday works: Owen Almighty leads graded winners on tab
Owen Almighty , the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby winner who most recently placed third in the Perryville...