With no grass favorites, Brown is still busy in Breeders’ Cup
Del Mar, Calif.
Chad Brown is nothing if not busy during the Breeders’ Cup. So what else is new? Even with 13 starters at Del Mar, he made it sound like it was same-ol’, same-ol’.
“In recent years this has been about what we’ve brought,” he told Horse Racing Nation during a brief pause during morning workouts Tuesday. “We’ve been lucky to have high-quality horses that fit these races. We’re back to participate, and we’re excited about it.”
It is the third time Brown has brought 13 horses to the championships. He did it last year at Keeneland and four years ago at Del Mar. Counting Friday and Saturday, his 81 starters since 2014 are the most for any trainer in an eight-year span, during which he has collected 12 of his 15 career Breeders’ Cup victories.
| Horse | Race | ML | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Spending | Juv. Fillies Turf | 8-1 | Flavien Prat |
| Haughty | Juv. Fillies Turf | 10-1 | Tyler Gaffalione |
| Jack Christopher | Juvenile | 9-5 | José Ortiz |
| Portfolio Company | Juvenile Turf | 6-1 | Flavien Prat |
| My Sister Nat | F&M Turf | 15-1 | José Ortiz |
| Pocket Square | F&M Turf | 15-1 | Irad Ortiz Jr. |
| Blowout | Mile | 8-1 | Joel Rosario |
| Raging Bull | Mile | 15-1 | Irad Ortiz Jr. |
| Royal Flag | Distaff | 8-1 | Joel Rosario |
| Dunbar Road | Distaff | 15-1 | José Ortiz |
| Domestic Spending | Turf | 4-1 | Flavien Prat |
| Rockemperor | Turf | 15-1 | Javier Castellano |
| Tribhuvan | Turf | 20-1 | José Ortiz |
It comes as no surprise that a trainer who has become the titan of turf has 13 victories in Breeders’ Cup grass races. Curiously, though, he does not have the morning-line favorite in any of them this week. He seemed amused about the idea of bettors kicking themselves after the fact for fading his starters, but he said he is not in the business of using the odds to determine where to enter his horses.
“I don’t pay much attention to it at all when I spot my horse,” he said. “I’m focusing on preparing for the races. But you know, it’s the Breeders’ Cup. These are big, deep fields, and there’s generous odds on a lot of nice horses.”
If the morning line is the prism to find his best grass horse this week, the focus falls on Domestic Spending, who is 4-1 to win Saturday’s $4 million Turf. Last time out, the 4-year-old Kingman gelding who has three Grade 1 wins to his name suffered a close, upset loss Aug. 14 in the Mister D (G1) at Arlington Park. That runner-up finish snapped a four-race winning streak.
“He got caught in a slow pace, unfortunately, and it cost him the race,” Brown said. “Hopefully in this race with a full field, it looks like there’s enough pace signed on. It could it be more to his liking. I think the horse is going to run well fresh. I know he likes Del Mar; he’s 1-for-1 here (winning last November’s Grade 1 Hollywood Derby), and I didn’t feel the need to run the horse (since August).”
If Domestic Spending were to win, he would have to spoil the bid for a Turf repeat by Ireland-based mare Tarnawa, the 9-5 morning-line favorite.
“She’s a world-class worse, and she’s definitely one of the horses to beat,” Brown said. “But I really like my horse, and I think if he gets a clean trip, he's going to be right there.”
Brown also has Rockemperor (15-1), a closer like Domestic Spending, and Tribhuvan (20-1), a potential pacesetter, entered in the Turf.
If following the money and its likely path are any gauge, Brown’s best chance for a Breeders’ Cup victory this week come from his most talked-about dirt starter. With a division-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure, Jack Christopher is the 9-5 favorite to win Friday’s $2 million Juvenile.
One problem is the Munnings colt was drawn into the rail post for the 1 1/16-mile race. Another is that he has never gone two turns, although that fact did not keep Brown from training Good Magic’s Juvenile victory over the same Del Mar main track four years ago.
Win big on the BC this year. Get your Super Screener today.
“It’s a test for the horse, and he’s drawn inside,” Brown said. “I would have preferred to be outside, to be honest, but it is what it is. He’s got good speed. Hopefully, he breaks clean from the gate and gets out there, and we’ll let (jockey) José (Ortiz) take it from there. I have confidence the horse will be able to get the two turns here at Del Mar.”
Brown’s other dirt entrants, Beldame Invitational (G2) winner Royal Flag (8-1) and Spinster (G1) runner-up Dunbar Road (15-1), are out to upset Horse of the Year candidate Letruska (8-5) in Saturday’s $2 million Distaff.
“Both horses are coming into the race very well,” Brown said. “Obviously, Dunbar drew outside (in post 11), so she’s going to have to get over and come with some sort of trip. But I love the way that they’re training, and if the pace sets up the right way, I think that they’ll make a nice late run.”
If Brown has a horse who came to Del Mar with more momentum than the rest of his stable, a case may be made for Blowout (8-1), who is entered in the $2 million Mile. The 5-year-old Dansili mare came back from a credible, fourth-place finish against the boys in the Fourstardave Handicap (G1) at Saratoga for a gate-to-wire victory last month in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland.
“She’s in career form,” Brown said. “She finally got that elusive Grade 1 win; it was nice to get that done in her last year of racing. She’s earned the right to compete here.”
Blowout is not alone representing the Brown stable in the Mile. He also has a 6-year-old long shot who is a three-time Grade 1 winner.
“I think Raging Bull (15-1) is going to run well for me,” Brown said. “I think it’s going to be a bit of a jailbreak when they turn for home, and it may come down to a trip in that race.”
Blowout and Raging Bull must face the likes of Space Blues (3-1), the 5-year-old European horse who has won seven of his last nine races for Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby, including last month’s Prix de la Forêt (G1) on a heavy course in France.
“He looks formidable,” Brown said. “It’s going to be a tall order (for Blowout) to run against the boys here, but she’s in top form.”
Projected odds suggest Brown’s best 2-year-old on the Del Mar grass Friday will be Portfolio Company (6-1), a two-time graded-stakes runner-up at 1 1/16 miles who drew post 10 for the one-mile Juvenile Turf.
“He’s drawn well,” Brown said about the Kitten’s Joy colt. “I wanted to get him outside. He’s a bit of a keen horse. I think he’ll get a much kinder run in the first turn out there, and I think he’ll also appreciate the cutback to a mile.”
Brown also has Consumer Spending (8-1) and Haughty (10-1) in Friday’s Juvenile Fillies Turf, a race he has won five times, and My Sister Nat (15-1) and Pocket Square (15-1) in Saturday’s Filly & Mare Turf, which he has won three times.
Those cases of repeated success should have bettors thinking twice before fading Brown this week.
“It’s quite a puzzle to handicap these races,” he said. “I wish everyone a lot of luck doing that.”