Strong Impact Has Brown Thinking About Breeders' Cup

Trainer Bruce Brown is thinking Breeders’ Cup with La Marca Stable’s Strong Impact after the New York-bred delivered a three-quarter-length victory against open company in yesterday’s $100,000 Fiddlers Patriot at 5 ½ furlongs on the turf.

The Fiddlers Patriot was the first stakes win for Strong Impact, who was claimed by Brown for $35,000 during the 2011 Saratoga meet. Freshened during the winter following a pair of lackluster performances on the dirt at Aqueduct Racetrack, Strong Impact returned from a five-month layoff to win an optional claimer turf sprint on June 19, at Belmont Park, and then delivered a strong turn of foot to catch Tightend Touchdown in the Fiddlers Patriot.

“He’s come back this year better than ever,” said Brown. “He’s coming back each year a little bit better. I wasn’t expecting him to run as well as he did in his first race back. It was seven-eighths and I would have been happy with just a good effort, but he exceeded expectations that day, and yesterday was great.”

Brown said Strong Impact likely will make his next start in the $100,000 Troy on August 14 at Saratoga. Like the Fiddlers Patriot, the Troy is a 5 ½-furlong turf race.

Brown’s long-range objective for Strong Impact is the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in November at Santa Anita.

“It’s a talented division, but it’s not a real deep one, and most of them were there yesterday,” said Brown. “He proved himself against them. He’s a New York-bred, so you go from looking at different New York-bred spots to looking for the big prize.”

Brown said Strong Impact’s stablemate Spring to the Sky is undergoing evaluation after bearing out on the turn and being vanned off after finishing last of nine in the Fiddlers Patriot.

“He’s comfortable and he cooled out OK, but he definitely has something going on,” said Brown. “We took some X-rays.”