L'Imperator, Virginia Joy Sweep Turf Stakes for Brown
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coglianese Photos
Virginia Joy wins the Sheepshead Bay Stakes at Belmont Park
On another wild Kentucky Derby (G1) Day of racing, one of the biggest surprises of a memorable afternoon might have taken place at a cold and rain-soaked Belmont Park.
Given all that happened in the early parts of May 7, when trainer Chad Brown posted five wins—three of them in graded stakes—at Belmont and Churchill Downs before the clock struck 4 p.m. Eastern, it was a bit of a head-scratcher that one of the four-time Eclipse Award winner's horses was sent off at 10-1 odds in a stakes he had won the last four years, the $200,000 Fort Marcy Stakes (G2T) at Belmont.
As illogical as that might have seemed, it made complete sense once the field crossed the finish line in the Fort Marcy with Brown horses running 1-2 and L'Imperator prevailing by 3 1/4 lengths in front-running fashion at those aforementioned 10-1 odds.
"There was not a ton of speed on paper and we left it up to (jockey Eric Cancel) and he did a good job of taking the initiative and going to the front," said assistant trainer Dan Stubbs, who handled the stable's New York horses while Brown tended to some rather important matters at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. "The way the turf is so soft, a lot of horses struggle in it, and this horse was able to overcome the conditions and show some ability. We're happy with the outcome."
Not surprisingly, the victory gave Brown, the nation's premier turf trainer, a sweep of the two graded turf stakes on Saturday's Belmont card after Virginia Joy took the Sheepshead Bay Stakes (G2T) for fillies and mares earlier in the day.
As is often the case in a New York graded turf stakes, L'Imperator ($22.60) filled the role of the "other Chad" in a field of seven that included three starters from the Brown barn. Grade 1-placed Sacred Life , who was second at 7-2 odds, and grade 1 winner Rockemperor , a 2-1 proposition, were considered the better prospects from the Brown trio by handicappers. But when Cancel was able to set dawdling fractions on the water-logged course, there was no catching the 5-year-old Holy Roman Emperor gelding owned by Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Robert LaPenta.
"He broke pretty sharp and he put me on the lead and I just went with it. I didn't want to take away what he gave me so easily. It worked out well," Cancel said.
Cancel, who normally enjoys his greatest success in the winter, was grateful for the chance to ride for Brown in a spring graded stakes while most of New York's top riders were in Kentucky.
"It's wonderful to win for him," Cancel said. "He gave me the opportunity and I've been doing my best to keep getting these chances."
The victory was the first in a graded stakes for L'Imperator, who now has 6 wins in 12 starts with earnings of $292,941. He had not raced since finishing a dull 10th in the Feb. 5 Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T).
Cancel carved out fractions of :52.78 and 1:19.65 to hold a length lead over 24-1 shot Glynn County and opened up in the stretch to cover the about 1 1/8-mile distance in 1:59.72 with the rails out 35 feet on the yielding inner turf course.
Michael Dubb, Michael Caruso, Madaket Stables, and Wonder Stables' Sacred Life, a Siyouni ridgling, advanced from fifth to take second by a half-length over Three Diamonds Farm's Glynn County, a son of Kitten's Joy trained by Mike Maker.
Bred by Jean-Pierre Dubois in France, where he started his career, L'Imperator is the fifth of seven foals from the Montjeu mare La Joie and her first graded stakes winner. Her most recent foal is a 2-year-old filly by Al Wukair .
Odds-on Virginia Joy Prevails in Sheepshead Bay
There was significantly less drama in the $186,000 Sheepshead Bay as a confident Trevor McCarthy put the 5-year-old Virginia Joy on the lead at the start and never looked back in prevailing by 14 1/4 lengths for Brown and owner Peter Brant.
Virginia Joy wins the Sheepshead Bay Stakes at Belmont Park
After fending off a mild bid from Lovely Lucky , the daughter of Soldier Hollow extended to a 1 1/2-length lead after a mile over the soggy going and then sailed home from there, extending to a 12-length lead in mid-stretch. She covered the about 1 3/8-mile distance in 2:30.88 over a course labeled yielding after day-long rain to give Brown his fifth Sheepshead Bay win.
"This might be the second sloppiest turf I've been on," McCarthy said. "I had a pretty bad day at Laurel Park once."
In her four previous races for Brown and Brant since shifting from her native Germany to the United States last year, Virginia Joy's two losses came on courses that were less than firm. Yet even if it was not the mare's preferred going, she had more than enough talent and speed to outclass her three rivals.
"I don't think it's her truly best footing that she would love, but she was best in here. She handled it OK before and I thought she was the best horse in here and that if she handled it a little bit she would win easy."
Catherine Wills' Luck Money , a daughter of Lookin At Lucky trained by Arnaud Delacour, was a very distant second, 6 1/2 lengths ahead of Elizabeth Mateo's Lovely Lucky, another daughter of Lookin At Lucky trained by Tom Albertrani.
A group 3 winner in Germany, Virginia joy was coming off a March 5 victory in The Very One Stakes (G3T) on firm turf at Gulfstream Park, her initial graded stakes win in the United States. A winner of five of 11 career starts, she has earned $435,557.
Bred by Gestut Auenquelle, she was bought for $1,142,388 by Oceanic Bloodstock at the 2020 Arqana Saint-Cloud Sale. She is the first of three foals by the Doyen mare Virginia Sun and a full sister to the group 3-placed 4-year-old colt Virginia Storm . A 3-year-old full sister has yet to race.
Since the rails for the race were out by 35-feet, it was considered an "about" 1 3/8 mile distance and a course record since there was not a previous race at that extended distance. The course record for 1 3/8 miles on the inner turf under normal conditions stands at 2:10 1/5.
Belmont Park, Saturday, May 07, 2022, Race 3Entries: Sheepshead Bay S. (G2T)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Luck Money (KY)
Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.
118
Arnaud Delacour
5/2
2
2Mia Martina (FL)
Junior Alvarado
118
H. Graham Motion
10/1
3
3Sister Otoole (FL)
Javier Castellano
118
H. Graham Motion
9/2
4
4Lovely Lucky (KY)
Dylan Davis
118
Thomas Albertrani
10/1
5
5Virginia Joy (GER)
Trevor McCarthy
120
Chad C. Brown
3/5
