By Christina Bossinakis
Continuing the powerful run during Del Mar's closing weekend of racing, trainer Chad Brown and Juddmonte once again held the winning card in the day's feature, taking Sunday's GI Matriarch Stakes with Segesta (Ghostzapper), a half-sister to Saturday's GI Hollywood Derby winner, Salamis (Speightstown).
In Our Time (Not This Time) and Ag Bullet (Twirling Candy) went to the front early as 8-5 choice Segesta was allowed to settle in fourth through :23.65 and :48.06 initial splits. With the 25-1 still cruising along up front through a half in :48.06, the Juddmonte homebred was in perfect striking position–three lengths behind the leader–exiting the far turn.
The favorite's pilot, Flavien Prat, asked for another gear and got it approaching the quarter pole as the bay extended her stride to reel in the hard-trying leaders turning for home. In full down the stretch, Segesta proved too much for her rivals, crossing the wire three lengths ahead of In Our Time, who edged Ag Bullet at the wire.
Segesta's initial Grade I score represented Brown's seventh victory in the last nine renewals of Del Mar's season-ending marquee test for turf fillies. Juddmonte, capturing its eighth Matriarch win, last won the mile test in 2022 with Viadera (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), who was also trained by Brown.
“She was a bit on her toes,” said Prat, who was winning his second Matriarch for Brown after having won the 2022 renewal with Regal Glory. “She was there for every step of the way today, Chad [Brown] thought she might be a Grade I winner.”
He continued, “I don't think the pace was crazy, and there were two horses in front, so I came out. She has a tendency of getting by those horses and kind of waiting. So I was trying to keep her up and keep her busy. She gave me a first class trip. She was there every step of the way.”
It didn't take long for Segesta to show her quality last season. She won her third start at Keeneland before taking Aqueduct's nine-furlong GII Wonder Again Stakes that spring. Only 3/4-lengths back in second in the GI Belmont Oaks in July, she was shelved for the remainder of her sophomore season.
Fourth in her seasonal return in the nine-furlong GIII Modesty Stakes at Churchill Downs in May followed by a sixth in the GI Just A Game over a yielding Saratoga turf course in June, the daughter of Ghostzapper bounced back to take Monmouth's GIII Matchmaker Stakes over 1 1/8 miles on July 19.
Shipped to Kentucky Downs for the Aug. 30 Resolute Racing Ladies Turf Stakes, she was bested by Special Wan (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) by a mere 1/2 length before another runner-up finish–beaten a neck by Simply In Front (Summer Front)–in the GI First Lady Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 4.
“She deserved to win this race,” said Brown's assistant, Jose Hernandez. “She's been knocking on the door so many times. She trained so well here. A nice, nice filly. The first part [of the race] was a little quick but you can take her back and [ Prat] got her in a good position.”
Pedigree Note:
In a Grade I double for dam Antonoe, an elite-level winner in her own right, Segesta is the second at Del Mar that weekend behind her aforementioned half-brother Salamis. After those two, the mare has a juvenile filly named Directive (Gun Runner) as well as a yearling full-sister to Salamis. She was barren after her breeding to Munnings for 2025, and she visited Justify for 2026. During her racing career, Antonoe claimed the hardware in the G3 Prix d'Aumale and hit the board in the GI Diana Stakes.
Hailing from the female line of G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp victress All at Sea, this is also the extended family of SP West Beach (Omaha Beach) while Antonoe's half-sister Upbeat Mood (Mizzen Mast) claims French Listed-placed Light Mood (Fr) (City Light {Fr}). Sire Ghostzapper continues his run as a perennial source of class and grit with Segesta being one of six graded winners in 2025 for the stallion. She is his first at the Grade I level this year, but Banishing and Dr. Venkman have both placed in elite contests in their current campaigns.
Sunday, Del Mar
MATRIARCH S.-GI, $302,000, Del Mar, 11-30, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:35.60, fm.
1–SEGESTA, 123, f, 4, by Ghostzapper
1st Dam: Antonoe (GISW-USA, GSW-Fr, $565,377),
by First Defence
2nd Dam: Ixora, by Dynaformer
3rd Dam: Imroz, by Nureyev
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Juddmonte (KY); T-Chad C. Brown;
J-Flavien Prat. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 11-4-4-0,
$1,190,275. *1/2 to Salamis (Speightstown), GISW, $353,363.
Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross
pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–In Our Time, 123, f, 4, by Not This Time
1st Dam: Laura's Pleasure, by Cactus Ridge
2nd Dam: Doubleyourpleasure, by Double Negative
3rd Dam: Joey's Pleasure, by Bold Josh
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($325,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $9,000 RNA
3yo '24 KEEJAN). O-Resolute Racing and Miller Racing LLC;
B-Brian Kahn (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.. $60,000.
3–Ag Bullet, 123, m, 5, by Twirling Candy
1st Dam: Noble Grey, by Forestry
2nd Dam: Never Fail, by Holy Bull
3rd Dam: Peaceful Intention, by Hold Your Peace
($30,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $220,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP;
$2,900,000 RNA 5yo '25 FTKNOV). O-Calvin Nguyen, and Joey
Tran; B-H & E Ranch (KY); T-Richard Baltas. $36,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 3/4, HD. Odds: 1.70, 29.30, 2.90.
Also Ran: Breath Away (GB), Heredia (GB), Medoro, Ozara (Ire), Vibez, Spicybug. Scratched: Antifona (Fr).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
One day after her half-brother won the Hollywood Derby (G1), 🌟 #9 SEGESTA ($5.40) soared to victory in the $300,000 Matriarch Stakes (G1) at @DelMarRacing. Flavien Prat was aboard the four-year-old Ghostzapper filly for trainer Chad Brown and owner/breeder @JuddmonteFarms. pic.twitter.com/1gBAE5QkDP
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) November 30, 2025
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