Paulassilverlining Leads Brown Duo in Madison

Paulassilverlining has an enviable future ahead of her.

Purchased privately by Juddmonte Farms last month, the multiple graded stakes-winning daughter of Ghostzapper   will eventually be among the mares who get through the velvet rope to a date with champion Arrogate upon his retirement. But before that high-class mating happens, there is the matter of the 5-year-old mare adding more luster to her own top-notch career, something her new connections hope she gets to work on this weekend.

Paulassilverlining is stepping into salty waters for her first start of 2017 as part of a deep nine-horse field for the $300,000 Madison Stakes (G1) going seven furlongs at Keeneland April 8.

The Madison is part of a stellar Saturday card that features five graded stakes at Keeneland, including the $1 million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2).

Previously trained by Michelle Nevin for owner/breeder Vince Scuderi, Paulassilverlining is now in the barn of Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Chad Brown. Brown was already familiar with the mare's form, having seen her up close as she rattled off wins in the Distaff (G3), Vagrancy (G3), and Gallant Bloom (G2) Handicaps last year prior to running third in the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

Paulassilverlining bounced out of that Breeders' Cup run in good enough order that she closed out her nine-race 2016 campaign with a victory in the Dec. 10 Garland of Roses Stakes. The fact the Eclipse Award finalist has been worse than third just three times in 18 career starts is the sort of toughness that convinced Juddmonte she would be an ideal fit for their program both now and in the years ahead.

"Ultimately, she'll be a mate for Arrogate, and she's a filly I really admired," said Garrett O'Rourke, U.S. manager for Juddmonte Farms. "When you look at Arrogate's dam and how accomplished and tough she was, if you look at Paula, she's the same. She's run a bunch of times, was a top-class 2-year-old and 3-year-old, a 4-year-old who placed in the Breeders' Cup. 

"When I went to see her, she pinned her ears back. She's exactly what you would expect of a tough mare like that. We can all read pedigrees and see the ability of what horses are. But I think the intangibles of the horses that kind of out-perform expectations and then stay at the top level, that's the competitiveness the really good ones have. And that's something I love to see in broodmare prospects."

Paulassilverlining will be starting outside of New York for the fourth time in her career and will be joined in the starting gate by fellow newly-minted stablemate Paid Up Subscriber, who is also making her first start since joining Brown's shedrow.

Paid Up Subscriber was purchased by Peter Brant's White Birch Farm for $1.1 million at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton November sale and will run for the first time since her second to I'm a Chatterbox in the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland last October. The Madison's seven-furlong distance is one the grade 2-winning daughter of Candy Ride   hasn't contested since a ninth in the 2015 Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2).

"They both shipped here in good shape and both seem to be training very, very well," Brown said of Paid Up Subscriber and Paulassilverlining. "I think seven eighths will work for both. I think that's as far as Paulassilverlining really wants to run and as short as Paid Up Subscriber wants to run. But I think they both fit and I couldn't be happier with how they both look so far."

Grade 1 winner Constellation ships in from trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's West Coast-base and enters off a runner-up effort behind Pretty N Cool in the Las Flores Stakes (G3) going six furlongs at Santa Anita Park March 5. The 4-year-old daughter of Bellamy Road   scored her career-best outcome over the seven-furlong distance when she won the La Brea Stakes (G1) last Dec. 26.

Madison S. (G1)

Keeneland, Saturday, April 08, 2017, Race 8

• 7f
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 5:03 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Paid Up Subscriber (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Chad C. Brown	5/1
2	2Clothes Fall Off (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	120	Kiaran P. McLaughlin	4/1
3	3Kathballu (KY)	Channing Hill	120	Kenneth G. McPeek	12/1
4	4Constellation (KY)	David Romero Flores	123	Jerry Hollendorfer	4/1
5	5High Ridge Road (KY)	Horacio Karamanos	120	Linda Rice	7/2
6	6Paulassilverlining (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Chad C. Brown	3/1
7	7Wheatfield (LA)	Edgar S. Prado	118	Danny Pish	12/1
8	8Ponder Lea (KY)	Florent Geroux	118	Richard Baltas	15/1
9	9Mines and Magic (KY)	Robby Albarado	118	Victoria H. Oliver	20/1