Whitebeam leads all the way for repeat win in Grade 1 Diana

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Since Chad Brown went out on his own as a Thoroughbred trainer in 2007, the Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga always has been high on his list of the most important races to win. With Whitebeam’s second victory in the $500,000 race coming Saturday, Brown won it for a record-extending ninth time overall and the eighth time in the last nine runnings.

“There’s a very short list of races when I left (Hall of Fame trainer Bobby) Frankel that was just instilled in me that he really held in high regard,” Brown said. “So pointing towards the Diana was way up on that list.”

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Sent off as the third-choice at 9-2, Whitebeam became part of an elite group of eight horses to win the Diana two years in a row. She joined the likes of Sistercharlie, who was trained by Brown in 2018 and 2019.

“It’s the horses and the clients that I’ve had through the years to send me and my team these horses,” Brown said. “There are several people, team members, that were there with our first Diana win (in 2011 with Zagora). They’ve been with me for all of them, so that’s the consistency of the program, really.”

Whitebeam broke alertly from the gate with jockey Flavien Prat and went right for the front, easily opening up a 1 1/2-length lead. Without any pressure she was able to set comfortable fractions of 24.46, 49.49, 1:13.76 and 1:36.70.

“There was a lack of pace on paper,” Brown said. “The plan was to go out there and just try to control the race and see if she was good enough to hold on.”

Following Whitebeam was the 2-1 favorite Didia, then Evvie Jets, and then Gina Romantica and Moira were together. At the end of the 1 1/8-mile race on the firm inner turf, the top four finishers came from that group. Whitebeam won by three-quarters of a length with a time of 1:48.14 as the pace quickened in the final half-mile.

“Very proud of her effort today,” Prat said. “Everything went well the first part of the race, and when I squeezed her, she was there for me. Nothing more you can ask for. She is one of the best mares in the country, and it was great.”

Whitebeam had not won a race since last year’s Diana, although she did finish second in a pair of graded stakes to start her 2024 campaign.

“I didn’t think she’d have trouble getting to the lead,” Brown said. “But halfway through the race I was surprised how slow they were going. I had mixed feelings about it. Of course for Whitebeam, it was going great. I had some closers in the race as well, so I sort of put all my chips on Whitebeam from the half-mile on.”

Whitebeam paid $11.60, $6.70 and $5.10 for a $2 across-the-board wager. At 6-1 Moira finished second and returned $7.10 and $5.70 completing a $2 exacta of $84. Gina Romantica, also trained by Brown, was third at 15-1 and paid $8.00 to show, ending the $2 trifecta that yielded $776. Didia finished fourth, and Evvie Jets faded to seventh.

With five horses in the Diana field of 10 older fillies and mares, Brown finished first, third, fifth with Coppice, eighth with Fluffy Socks and ninth with Chili Flag.

“I want to see how they all come out, but definitely some horses out of this five will end up in the Ballston Spa (G2, Aug. 24). It’s a race I love to participate in. It’s hard to take (Whitebeam) out of a winning Grade 1 race and drop them out of a Grade 1. It’s hard for me to think about it that way, but there’s other horses that didn’t win today that could maybe be suited for that.”

After that Brown may have to decide which Breeders’ Cup division to send Whitebeam, a 5-year-old Caravaggio mare bred and owned by Juddmonte. He could choose between the Filly & Mare Turf at 1 3/8 miles or a date against males in the Mile.

“The one thing with stretching her out would be she’s going to get an easy lead,” Brown said. “She’s got speed. I have found with older horses, turf horses in particular, you can maybe get a little extra distance out of them as they get older. A horse like Stephanie's Kitten was a miler, and Dayatthespa was a miler. It’s a little apples and oranges with this horse, but you get the point. I was able to get more out of them as 5-year-olds.”