Kathynmarissa wins Brown’s 11th Diana, likely points to G2 Flower Bowl

• Kathynmarissa wins Brown’s 11th Diana, likely points to G2 Flower Bowl
• Cy Fair earns career-best 96 BSF in G3 Coronation Cup score
• Effusive possible for G1 Spinaway
• Nitrogen drills for G1 Whitney; Silent Tactic works towards G2 Jim Dandy pres. by Mohegan Sun
• Napoleon Solo under consideration for G1 DraftKings Travers/G1 Pennsylvania Derby

Michael Dubb and Michael Caruso’s Kathynmarissa led a Chad Brown-trained trifecta for the five-time Eclipse Award winner’s record-extending 11th score in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Dunkin’ Diana, a nine-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares, at Saratoga Race Course.

Kathynmarissa closed from 6th-of-7 to edge pacesetting stablemate Segesta by a half-length in a final time of 1:51.42 over yielding footing. Fellow Brown trainees Portfolio Duration, who was bothered early, landed another 2 1/4 lengths back in third with Dynamic Pricing in fifth, edged out of fourth by the nose of European shipper Cathedral.

Kathynmarissa earned a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure in victory and may point to the 10-furlong Grade 2 Flower Bowl on September 26 at Belmont Park, a “Win and You’re In” for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf going 1 3/16 miles in October at Keeneland.

“Kathynmarissa is likely to get a rest until the Flower Bowl,” Brown said. “I don’t really want to cut her back to a mile and a sixteenth; I don’t want to run her three turns right now. She’s got some age on her, she’s got plenty of experience, she ran really well off the layoff in the Modesty, I want to handle her carefully and get two more good starts out of her. I’d say with her, it is more clear she is Flower Bowl and Breeders’ Cup, if she’s healthy.”

Brown’s other Diana runners may be considered for the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2, $300,000 Ballston Spa presented by STIHL on August 22 at Saratoga.

“Segesta, I need to think about if I bring her back in the Ballston Spa,” said Brown. “The same with Portfolio Duration. Dynamic Pricing I need to regroup a bit because she got ground she should’ve liked, and she didn’t kick yesterday. She’s fallen off form now after a couple good starts earlier in the year, so I need to regroup and try to salvage the second half of her season in Grade 2s and Grade 3s, not off the table for a Ballston Spa with her.

“Portfolio Duration was the only one I’d say had an excuse in the race,” Brown continued. “The seven horse [Ozara] really just came in and bothered [the field], a little chain reaction and my filly took the worst of it. It really put [jockey] Manny [Franco] back in the saddle there for a good few strides, I’m wondering how much that and the soft ground affected her… that’s the one horse I might just give a mulligan to.”

On Saturday at Monmouth Park, Brown sent out Klaravich Stables’ Program Trading to win the 11-furlong Grade 2 United Nations by 2 3/4 lengths. Brown said the 6-year-old Lope de Vega ridgling may be considered for the 12-furlong Grade 1, $750,000 Christophe Clement Turf on August 15 at Saratoga, offering a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in October at Keeneland.

“That’s possible, but look, it [the race] is a little tight, but you know what, it is his last year running, maybe I do that, particularly if I get some wet weather, he seems to really move up on that,” said Brown, who also sent out Grayosh there to win the Grade 3 Matchmaker.

The score by Program Trading was a record-extending seventh United Nations victory for Brown, while Grayosh earned the stable a record-extending 10th Matchmaker.

St. Elias Stable, William Lawrence and Glassman Racing’s Preakness runner-up Iron Honor was a four-length third in the nine-furlong Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell on Saturday at Monmouth. The Nyquist bay, running without blinkers for the second consecutive time in five career starts, rallied three-wide from fifth over the sloppy and sealed dirt, but never threatened the victorious Baby Vino or battling Napoleon Solo.

“He was kind of off and on the bridle again, sort of like in the Preakness, I’m not sure if he needs a blinker again or if it was just the track,” Brown said. “I thought he’d like it, it didn’t look like he loved it to me. Halfway through the race I thought he wasn’t running at all, then he came on again. He ran a solid enough race to be third. I was disappointed that he wasn’t able to win the race particularly when Further Ado looked like he wasn’t having his best day. That was the time to win.”

Brown said Iron Honor will likely point to the nine-furlong Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on September 19 at Parx Racing.

“Whatever I do with him going forward, which is likely the Pennsylvania Derby, keep him at that distance, I might put that blinker back on, we’ll see how he trains,” Brown said. “Just trying to figure out how to get him in the winner’s circle in a Grade 1. He’s not far away, but he certainly hasn’t broke through there yet either.”

Brown nominated Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables’ Ways and Means to next Sunday’s Grade 2 Honorable Miss presented by Mionetto, but said the mare will await the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Ballerina on August 29, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

“I nominated her just to have it there and speak to Mr. Klarman about, but we are going to stick to our plan and just run her in the Ballerina,” Brown said. “An extra race, I don’t know what it’s going to do for her. She runs so good off layoffs. I’m really trying to get her to the Breeders’ Cup this year without a problem.”

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Cy Fair earns career-best 96 BSF in G3 Coronation Cup score

Cy Fair earned a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure for her confident stalking victory under Hall of Famer John Velazquez in Saturday’s Grade 3, $225,000 Coronation Cup, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by George Weaver for owners Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton, Cy Fair allowed familiar foe Sapphire Beach to take the lead before swooping to a 2 1/2-length score in a final time of 1:01.83 over yielding footing.

The Not This Time bay boasts a 7-5-1-1 ledger, including victories against males in October in the Listed Algonquin at Woodbine Racetrack and the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Weaver said trackside on Sunday morning that Cy Fair continues to impress him with each outing.

“She's just a great racehorse. She's pretty special and we've known that for a while,” Weaver said. “It's hard to stay at the level that she has for a long period of time, but hopefully she continues to do that. She confirmed yesterday what we've always been thinking about her, and she came out of it well.”

Weaver noted his appreciation for Cy Fair’s professional just off-the-pace performance.

“That's her preferred style. As horses get older, they learn how to run. She's had it figured out for a while now,” Weaver said.

Weaver indicated post-race he would consider trying Cy Fair against males once more in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in October at Keeneland. A route to the Breeders’ Cup could go through the Grade 1, $1.75 million [$875,000 KTDF] Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint at 6 1/2-furlongs on August 29.

“The big money race at Kentucky Downs is interesting to think about. I'll talk to the connections and pick a spot or two to get us there [the Breeders’ Cup] and hopefully she continues to impress us,” Weaver said.

Cy Fair has yet to be tested beyond 5 1/2-furlongs, and Weaver said he wasn’t certain if the talented bay would want to stretch out.

“There's only one way to find out,” Weaver said.

The $185,000 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training purchase is out of the winning Arch mare Remarqued, making her a half-sister to the Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate, who won the 2023 Group 2 Queen Mary at Royal Ascot. 

Mathiesen Racing’s Royal Testament worked solo over the Oklahoma training turf Sunday, galloping out strongly through the turn in preparation for the Listed $200,000 Galway, a 5 1/2-furlong Mellon turf sprint for sophomore fillies on August 15 here.

“We've had some easy works, and I wanted to work her a little bit today. We're looking at the race on the 15th,” Weaver said.

The Midshipman chestnut won the 5 1/2-furlong Rosies in September at Colonial Downs and followed with a one-length second after bobbling at the break in the six-furlong Grade 3 Matron in October at Belmont at the Big A. She was last seen finishing off-the-board in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

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Effusive possible for G1 Spinaway

Spendthrift Farm’s Kentucky homebred Effusive, by Into Mischief and out of dual Champion Monomoy Girl, showed the grit and determination of her multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire dam to notch a 1 1/4-length debut score on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

Piloted by Manny Franco, the talented bay exited the inside post in a field of seven and rated in fifth position early as Cruising Again zipped an opening quarter-mile in 22.22 seconds over the sloppy and sealed main track. Effusive made an inside run through the turn and tipped out three wide in upper stretch where she was bumped hard by the David Fawkes-trained Key Colony Beach. Undeterred, Effusive took dead aim at the pacesetter and took command at the sixteenth pole en route to the win in a final time of 1:11.69. The winning effort earned a 73 Beyer Speed Figure.

Blake Cox, son and assistant to dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, said he was elated with the performance.

“It was a very impressive debut win. Breaking from the rail is not an easy thing to do with a firster. She broke well and they kind of ran away from her a little bit and she got dirt in her face,” Cox said. “The plan was to have Manny finishing up with her and we were hoping for a good effort, but we didn't know if it would be enough or not. They straightened up and she got slammed a bit by the Fawkes horse and it showed a lot for her to continue to run on - her mother was the same way, whatever didn't go her way didn't matter, she still crossed the wire first most of the time.”

The Cox-trained Monomoy Girl won 14-of-17 starts for purse earnings in excess of $4.7 million, and was named Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2018 and Champion Older Dirt Female in 2020.

Blake Cox said Effusive shares some of the same tendencies as her famous dam.

“She runs like her mom with her head up in the air and then right after the wire they showed her on TV with her ears up, just like her mom did. There's some similarities there for sure,” Cox said. “Both are very mild mannered. She hasn't turned a hair since she's been here. She was perfect in the paddock, Manny kicked her away and she had a good warmup. Manny had nothing but good things to say.”

Cox noted that Monomoy Girl was an important horse for the stable, providing their first Grade 1-win in the 2018 Ashland at Keeneland en route to top-flight scores at Churchill Downs in that year’s Kentucky Oaks and their first Breeders’ Cup win in the Distaff.

“She was our first great horse. She was the first Grade 1 winner, first Oaks winner, first Breeders' Cup winner, so she taught us a lot,” Cox said. “A horse of a lifetime, for sure and we're grateful. She was an unbelievable filly to be around. We miss her a lot and I'm glad we have this filly. It's good she passed down a nice filly.”

Cox said Effusive is likely to point to the Grade 1, $300,000 Spinaway on September 5 here, a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” event for the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in October at Keeneland.

“She came out of the race in good shape. She seems a little tired, most first timers are after they run here. I would think the Spinaway is on the radar for sure,” Cox said.

The Cox barn sent out three winners on Saturday’s Spa card, taking a hotly-anticipated maiden 2-year-old tilt in the opener with The Good Life and adding an allowance score in Race 6 from Tab At Zanzibar.

The Good Life is by Life Is Good [12-9-1-0, $4.5 million] and out of the Speightstown mare First Hour – a half-sister to dual Grade 2-winner Justwhistledixie and Grade 2-winner Chace City.

Bred and co-owned by WinStar Farm with First Go Racing and CHC Inc., The Good Life exited post 2-of-5 under Franco and made every pole a winning one through the rain to score by 3 1/2-lengths in a final time of 1:11.14 over a still fast main track. In the process, he bested two Flightline progeny in $1.8 million sales purchase Powerline, who ran second in his debut and the $500,000 yearling buy Greenwell, who landed fifth as the mutuel favorite at second asking.

“He was sent up from Kentucky in high regard and he delivered,” Cox said. “He broke well and Manny put him in the game and he had a great trip. It was a very good performance. We liked the colt a lot. It shows a lot to be able to outrun those horses and it was a good effort. A very exciting horse going forward and he came out of the race great.”

The Good Life, who earned an 80 Beyer, will likely point to the seven-furlong Grade 1, $300,000 Spendthrift Farm Hopeful on September 6 here.

“That’s on the radar, for sure,” Cox said.

Robert V. LaPenta and Madaket Stables’ Tab At Zanzibar, a sophomore Candy Ride gelding, bested elders in a six-furlong sprint over sloppy and sealed footing. With Franco aboard from the inside post, he led at each point of call, stopping the clock in 1:09.82 to earn a career-best 87 Beyer.

“He's extremely fast. He didn't break the greatest from the rail, but it didn’t take him long to get to the front and he was gone,” Cox said. “He's a very impressive horse in the mornings, easy to be around, a very classy horse. Looks like he's ready to take that step forward into graded company.”

Cox said the team will get with the connections to discuss a next spot for the $80,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, whose record now stands at 3-2-1-0.

***

Nitrogen drills for G1 Whitney; Silent Tactic works towards G2 Jim Dandy pres. by Mohegan Sun

D.J. Stable’s multiple Grade 1-winning filly Nitrogen turned in another sharp breeze over the Saratoga Race Course main track on Sunday, posting a bullet half-mile in 47.60 seconds as she prepares to take on male rivals in the Grade 1, $1 million Whitney on August 8 here.

Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro bay went solo under exercise rider Edwin Soto shortly after the conclusion of the 6:30 renovation break on the breezy morning, and skipped over the moist dirt that had been back-raked after significant rainfall on Saturday.

“We weren’t going to breeze her, and then the track looked so good when they harrowed it that I said, ‘let’s breeze her,’” Casse said. “I had everybody scrambling. I liked that it was cool this morning, so I said, ‘let’s do it.’ She went great. I wanted her to do a little something and get a little blow into her and didn’t really accomplish much of that – she did it very easy.”

Nitrogen, the reigning Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, won an off-the-turf edition of the Grade 3 Wonder Again and the 10-furlong Grade 1 Alabama presented by Keeneland Sales here last year. She faced elders and landed second in the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland and followed with the same result in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar to cap her campaign. She enters the Whitney off a 12 3/4-length trouncing of the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps presented by Ford on June 5 here that garnered a 113 Beyer Speed Figure.

Later in the morning, Casse sent out Silent Tactic and Pierette to work in company over the main track, the pair covering a half-mile in 48.46 seconds. The former is targeting the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on August 1 while the latter points to the Grade 3, $225,000 Adirondack a day later.

“I thought Silent Tactic worked the best I’ve seen him work since before he won the Southwest,” Casse said. “He’s ready. Silent Tactic needs some company or he won’t hardly do much, and she’s [Pierette] very kind. She comes from off the pace, and I told Edwin [Soto], who worked Silent Tactic, ‘if that filly gets away, don’t chase her.’ But they did a good job. I knew what I wanted to do, I thought they could do it, and they did it.”

John C. Oxley’s Silent Tactic has never been worse than second in six lifetime outings, led by his 3 1/4-length victory when rallying from far back in the Grade 3 Southwest in February at Oaklawn Park. He followed with runner-up efforts there in the Grade 2 Rebel and Grade 1 Arkansas Derby before entering the Kentucky Derby and scratching with a bruised foot.

Tracy Farmer’s undefeated Pierette graduated on debut in May at Churchill Downs and followed with a 1 1/2-length victory in the Listed Debutante last out on June 28 there. The $475,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is by Girvin and out of the Pulpit mare Praising, who also produced stakes-winner Camp Hope and dual group-placed Shin Forever.

“She just gets better and better,” Casse said. “I think she has the potential to be a pretty good horse. She’s beautiful. A big, strong filly.”

Over on the Oklahoma training turf, Casse sent out a set of special grass workers at 10:10, including a pair with upcoming stakes engagements at the Spa.

Gary Barber and Peter Deutsch’s Blinging It Back worked a solo half-mile in 48 and 3/5 seconds according to The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) clockers. Casse said the son of Volatile, who was a last-out second in the restricted Listed Saranac on July 3 here, is likely to make his next start in the local Grade 2, $400,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on August 7.

Shortly after, the pair of Vissino and Harbaugh were timed covering a half-mile in 49 and 4/5. Blue Crevalle Racing and Quintessential Racing Florida’s Vissino got his first feel for the turf after finishing a distant second to Booked in the Grade 3 Sanford sprinting six furlongs over the Spa main track on July 4.

Casse mentioned the son of Preservationist is likely for the 5 1/2-furlong Skidmore for juveniles over the turf on August 27, while the dirt-debuting Harbaugh will look to a turf maiden.

The Casse barn has had plenty to celebrate so far this year, including 33 stakes wins -11 of them graded and three of them coming in Grade 1s at Saratoga. The veteran conditioner’s latest stakes success came with Live Oak Plantation’s And One More Time in Friday’s restricted Listed De La Rose, an inner turf mile for older fillies and mares who have not won a graded stakes in 2025-26.

The Grade 1-winning daughter of Omaha Beach went wire-to-wire under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, securing her second stakes win of the year by 1 1/4 lengths over Hang the Moon in a final time of 1:34.26. The effort equaled her career-best Beyer of 93 she also earned for a fifth in the Grade 1 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing on June 6 here.

Casse said And One More Time came out of her race “great,” and will now point to the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2, $300,000 Ballston Spa presented by STIHL on August 22 here.

***

Napoleon Solo under consideration for G1 DraftKings Travers/G1 Pennsylvania Derby

Espoir USA’s dual Grade 1-winner Napoleon Solo landed a hard-fought pacesetting second to longshot Baby Vino in Saturday’s Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell, at Monmouth Park.

Trained by Chad Summers, the Liam’s Map grey won the Grade 1 Champagne in October at Belmont at the Big A and added the Grade 1 Preakness to his ledger in May at Laurel Park. On Saturday, with regular pilot Paco Lopez up, Napoleon Solo showed the way through six furlongs in 1:12.01 over the sloppy and sealed footing, before the Jorge Vargas, Jr.-piloted Baby Vino rushed up the rail to put a head in front at the stretch call. The two foes battled the length of the stretch run with Baby Vino prevailing by a half-length in a final time of 1:50.18. A stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run resulted in no change to the order of finish.

Summers tipped his cap to Baby Vino, who arrived from a stylish 10 3/4-lengh score in the NYRA Bets Pegasus with Lopez aboard at the Oceanport, N.J., oval.

“I had a lot of respect for Baby Vino going into the race, he's a nice horse and he'd run on that track before and was super impressive winning the prep race,” Summers said. “Ultimately, we ran a good race. We put away a Grade 1-winner in Further Ado, The Puma [4th] should be a Grade 1-winner [missed by a nose in the Florida Derby] and Iron Honor [3rd] ran second in the Preakness.

“I was proud of our effort. He battled,” Summers continued. “We let a little too much of the rail open up and it was a good ride from Vargas to take advantage of it and unfortunately we had to settle for second.”

Summers said Napoleon Solo exited the race in good order and will arrive back in Saratoga this afternoon where he will train with an eye towards either the 10-furlong Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 29 here or the nine-furlong Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on September 19 at Parx.

“We’ll nominate for the Pennsylvania Derby and the Travers and then see how the next couple of weeks go, and how he comes out of the race,” Summers said. “We'll watch the Jim Dandy and the Curlin with great interest and keep an eye on Golden Tempo...get with the ownership and figure out a plan of attack.”

Summers said Napoleon Solo enjoyed training at Saratoga last summer leading into both his restricted maiden score on debut in August and the Champagne at second asking.

“He definitely had an affinity for this main track last year and you'd like the opportunity for once to run out of your own stall,” said Summers, who noted that Napoleon Solo may employ new tactics in his next outing. Long-term targets for Napoleon Solo include the Breeders’ Cup in October at Keeneland and the Group 1 Saudi Cup in February at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.

Bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther and Eurowest Bloodstock, Napoleon Solo, a $40,000 purchase at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the stakes-winning Scat Daddy mare Atomic Blonde. He has banked in excess of $1.7 million through a 6-3-1-0 ledger.