By Steve Sherack
Dacita (Chi) (Scat Daddy), on the shelf since coming within a nose of capturing the GII Canadian S. at Woodbine last September, has rejoined trainer Chad Brown's Palm Meadows base and is aiming to begin her 6-year-old campaign this spring.
“She's been training with Eddie Woods since the first week of January and actually just shipped to Palm Meadows [Tuesday] to Chad's barn there,” said co-owner Pete Bradley, who campaigns the chestnut along with Sheep Pond Partners. “She's probably on a schedule to start early in the Belmont meet. She couldn't be doing any better and looks great. We're looking forward to a good year with her. She's a fun one.”
A two-time champion and three-time Group 1 winner in her native land, Dacita registered a career high in the U.S. by annexing last summer's GI Diana S. at Saratoga in a blanket finish. She was scratched from the Fasig-Tipton November Sale after emerging from her aforementioned effort north of the border with a bruised foot. Bred by Haras Paso Nevado, Dacita is out of the Chilean Broodmare of the Year Daja (Chi) (Seeker's Reward) and has posted a career record of 16-9-3-1 and earnings of $1,012,769. She also counts a head victory over two-time champion Tepin (Bernstein) on her resume in the 2015 GII Ballston Spa S. at Saratoga.
“Because she's a Southern Hemisphere filly and we didn't start running her until she was a 4-year-old up here, we decided that we'd run her–unless there was some reason not to run her–through her 6-year-old year,” Bradley explained. “She had a little setback with some bruising in her feet out of the race in Canada and we just gave her the time she needed. We did enter her in the sale, but just as a back up in case her problems were more significant than we had thought.”
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar the year-end goal and work backwards from there to map out a campaign?
“That's the Chad Brown style,” Bradley concluded with a laugh.
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