The Irish-bred filly Dealbata,
one of a number of European imports in the care of trainer Chad Brown, picked
up her first U.S.
stakes victory yesterday in her first stateside start, taking the Mohegan Sky
overnight stakes by a length over a talented field.
“She ran really well yesterday,” Brown said. “It was
a nice race for her to get started and we’ll kind of see where to go from
here. I’ll run her in a graded stakes somewhere. There were some nice
horses in the race yesterday for a listed stake. She hadn’t run in six
months – I don’t think it was her best race actually, because she
probably could use the race – but she ran really well and she’ll
probably move forward.”
Bubbly Jane, a two-time Group 1 winner in her native Brazil who has won
two stakes in this country and is graded stakes-placed in three more, finished
second in the Mohegan Sky, followed by the British-bred Federation, who is also
graded stakes-placed in the U.S. Check the Label, winner of 2010’s Grade
1 Garden City and three other graded races, finished fifth yesterday.
“I might look at the Matchmaker [Grade 3, 1 1/8 miles on turf at Monmouth Park on July 29] for Dealbata.
We’ll kind of look everywhere, but I might look that direction first,
since I probably already have something for the Diana [Grade 1, $600,000, 1 1/8
miles on turf at Saratoga Race Course on July 28] …maybe Zagora or
Banimpire, one of those two, most likely. We’ll nominate this one, too,
and just see how things are going, but it really wasn’t my plan to throw
her into a Grade 1 right away. She could develop that way though.”
Brown and owner Martin Schwartz won last year’s edition of the
Diana with French-bred Zagora, who has gone on to win a trio of Grade 3 races
since, most recently taking Pimlico’s Gallorette Handicap on May 19.
Schwartz also campaigns Dealbata, and another Irish filly, Banimpire, a
five-time Group stakes winner in Europe who has yet to start in the U.S.
Brown
said Sunday that Banimpire, a 4-year-old daughter of Holy Roman Emperor was
under consideration for the Grade 2, $200,000 New York Stakes, 1 ¼ miles over
Belmont’s turf course on June 30.
“It’s a strong division,” Brown said.
“Especially on the East Coast; seems to be the best turf fillies and
mares around. If you’re going to win a Grade 1 on the East Coast with a
turf filly this year, you’re going to have to earn it.”