While Chad Brown trainees Stephanie's Kitten and Alterite have each failed to earn a trip to the winner's circle this season, no one will be ignoring the two grade I winners Sept. 27 when they start in the $600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (gr. IT) at Belmont Park.
Ken and Sarah Ramsey homebred Stephanie's Kitten has not won in four starts this year but the 5-year-old Kitten's Joy mare enters Saturday's 1 1/4-mile turf race for fillies and mares off a pair of impressive efforts. She finished second in the Beverly D. Stakes (gr. IT) behind Euro Charline Aug. 16 at Arlington Park after also running second, just a neck behind winner Somali Lemonade, in the TVG Diana Stakes (gr. IT) July 19 at Saratoga Race Course.
Stephanie's Kitten will be trying for a third grade I victory after taking the 2011 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (gr. I) on the former Polytrack at Keeneland, and last year's Longines Just a Game Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont.
Stablemate Alterite closed out last season with a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (gr. IT), finishing just one length behind winner Dank. This season, the 4-year-old daughter of Literato is still trying to put everything together as she finished off the board in her two 2014 starts: the Diana and Beverly D.
Martin Schwartz's Alterite won last year's Garden City Stakes (gr. IT) at Belmont and has placed in four other grade/group I races in her career.
Brown also will saddle grade III winner Watsdachances in Saturday's race.
Looking for her first career grade I score Saturday will be Phipps Stable homebred Abaco, who edged Flower Bowl rival Strathnaver by a neck to win the Ballston Spa Stakes (gr. IIT) Aug. 23 at Saratoga. Andrew Stone's Strathnaver, trained by Graham Motion, also finished second in this year's Just a Game.
Trainer Alan Goldberg, who won last year's Flower Bowl with Laughing, will send out Tannery, a grade I winner in Canada who enters off a 10th-place finish in the Beverly D. Tannery was second in last year's Flower Bowl.
The race is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win & You're In," event to the Filly and Mare Turf.
PP | Horse | Jockey | Weight | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Abaco (KY) | Jose L. Ortiz | 121 | Claude R. McGaughey III |
2 | Maximova (NY) | Cornelio H. Velasquez | 119 | Christophe Clement |
3 | Viva Rafaela (BRZ) | Javier Castellano | 119 | Todd A. Pletcher |
4 | Strathnaver (GB) | Joel Rosario | 119 | H. Graham Motion |
5 | Starstruck (IRE) | Kerwin D. Clark | 119 | J. Larry Jones |
6 | Watsdachances (IRE) | Joe Bravo | 119 | Chad C. Brown |
7 | Alterite (FR) | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | 121 | Chad C. Brown |
8 | Tannery (IRE) | Jose Lezcano | 121 | Alan E. Goldberg |
9 | Stephanie's Kitten (KY) | John R. Velazquez | 121 | Chad C. Brown |