Brown Loaded for Arlington Program

Big Blue Kitten | Equi-Photo

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If the six horses trainer Chad Brown has entered in the Arlington Million program Saturday perform as well as his Saratoga runners have recently, he might be flying home with a couple more Grade I victories on his resume.

Between Wednesday, Aug. 5 and Friday Aug. 14, Brown won with 12 of 35 starters, a torrid 34.2 win percentage at the extremely competitive Spa meet. Twenty-two of those 35 starters finished in the top three, an in-the-money rate of 62.9%.

Brown, 36, has three runners in the GI Arlington Million, which he won in 2013 with Real Solution (Kitten's Joy): Big Blue Kitten (Kitten's Joy), Slumber (GB) (Cacique {Ire}) and Shining Copper (Aragorn {Ire}); two in the GI Beverly D. S., a race he won in 2012 with I'm a Dreamer (Ire) (Noverre): Stephanie's Kitten (Kitten's Joy) and Watsdachances (Ire) (Diamond Green {Fr}); and Hyper (Victory Gallop) in the GIII American St. Leger.

With two of his seven entries winning on the opening-day card, including the GII Lake George, Brown was off to a fine start. He was cool by his standards during the next 10 days before moving into the torrid stretch that started with nine wins in six days.

“The horses have been running really well, but they have been running really well for us all year, though,” he said Friday in his Saratoga office. “We try to focus on this meet some, but we had an outstanding Keeneland meet and finished second in the standings. Then we finished second in the standings at Belmont with 33 wins. And now.”

Added Brown, “Really, my staff has been really busting it and staying on top of everything. Of course, I have the horses from the clients, a nice, diverse group of horses. There has been a lot of patience from the clients and I am running these horses when they're ready and where they fit. It all comes together, meet to meet now for us. It's been a solid year and we're having another good Saratoga meet, which is good.”

The surge at the Spa lifted Brown into a familiar position in the Saratoga standings, second to Todd Pletcher, 20-17, through Friday's program. For the past four summers, Pletcher and Brown have finished first and second in wins at the meet.

Brown grew up in nearby Mechanicville, New York and he and his wife and two daughters are Saratoga Springs residents, so a victory at his home track would a big deal. After fielding questions about it for years from the local media, it's a subject he would rather not hear about.

“I honestly think about it less and less, virtually not at all now,” he said. “We have so much going on in this business. We're trying to focus on these horses individually and get the best out of them, running them when they're ready in the right spots. We don't manage or spot the horses or change anything we're doing in regards to where we are in any standings in any meet.”

He continued, “It would be nice, don't get me wrong. if we had the most wins at the end of the meet. It would be very rewarding for me, my clients and my staff, but it's not and never has been the centerpiece of our business.”

Brown said his unbeaten star grass filly Lady Eli (Divine Park) is getting better after a bout with laminitis this summer. He expects the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner and GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. heroine to be able to return to competition in 2016.

“She's doing terrific,” he said. “She's getting better and better every week. She's doing as well as she possibly could be. We're just extremely pleased right now. She's definitely in the recovery phase where she has excellent hoof growth. We're increasing her exercise every day. We don't have any firms dates or plans when she could be put back in training. We're taking it week to week.”

In 2013, Brown stayed in Saratoga and watched Big Blue Kitten win the G1 Sword Dancer Invitational S. A little later that afternoon Real Solution took the Million via disqualification. He will be at Arlington International Race Course Saturday to saddle his gang, led by the veteran Big Blue Kitten, who has won 13 times and earned just over $2 million for Ken and Sarah Ramsey. Brown doesn't know what to expect this year.

“I'm relieved that he's in career form as a 7-year-old,” Brown said. “I have a lot of respect for the horse. I can't tell you I'm surprised. He has a lot of heart and has been a model of consistency since the first day we ran him as a 3-year-old. We've had him his whole career and have a ton or respect for him. We just love him. For him to be in career form at seven is so rewarding.”

 

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