Sistercharlie Up Just in Time in Diana Stakes

Being a closer, it's not unusual for the 4-year-old filly Sistercharlie to face an imposing obstacle.

Like the 26 lengths between her and the lead after a half-mile when she finished second by a head in June 8 New York Stakes (G2T) at Belmont Park.

Or the two lengths that separated her from a determined Ultra Brat in the final furlong of the $500,000 Diana Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course July 21.

"I didn't think she could win with 200 yards left," said her owner, Peter Brant.

Yet Brant should have known better.

After the way Sistercharlie overcame an illness last summer that could have ended her career, catching Ultra Brat was anything but an impossible task.

Closing stoutly under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, Sistercharlie caught Ultra Brat in the final strides to register a victory by a nose and give Brant his third win in the grade 1 test and trainer Chad Brown a third straight win in the 1 1/8-mile turf stakes.

"It's great honor to win this race. I won it with Just A Game (1980) and Waya (1978)," said Brant, one of the sport's leading owners in the late 1970's and 1980's who re-entered the game a few years ago. "It's one of the great American races on the turf and it's great to be back in Saratoga and back in horse racing."

Like her owner, Sistercharlie has her own comeback tale. She came down with pneumonia after finishing second by a neck in the Belmont Oaks (G1T) last July in her United States debut, which ended a highly promising 3-year-old season.

"Chad's done a great job with her. We almost lost her. We both decided to give her time off and Dr. (Gary) Priest in Kentucky treated her and did a great job with her and we got her back," Brant said. 

Taking a patient approach, Brown did not bring the Irish-bred daughter of Myboycharlie back to the races until April 14 when she notched a 2 1/4-length score in the Jenny Wiley (G1T) at Keeneland, a race that preceded her narrow June 8 defeat in the New York.

"It was challenging," said Brown, after winning the Diana for a fourth time in his career. "She was pretty sick with a lung infection. Fortunately, we were able to overcome it with an excellent team of veterinarians. You needed patience and Peter Brant is a veteran in this game. He understands patience. He's seen all aspects of it. We gave her all the time she needed and developed her along the way. 

"This isn't her ideal distance, nor was the mile-and-a-sixteenth in the Jenny Wiley, but just with sheer class, heart and ability, she can do it."

Bred by Ecurie Des Monceaux, Sistercharlie was purchased by Brant shortly before she finished second in the 2017 Prix de Diane (G1T) at Chantilly last June. The Diana was her fifth win in nine career starts and pushed her career earnings to $1,126,403.

A 6-5 favorite, Sistercharlie ($4.30) covered the nine furlongs in 1:46.26. Brown mentioned the Aug. 11 Beverly D. (G1T) at Arlington International Racecourse as a possibility for her next start.

The Diana was a tough loss for trainer Graham Motion and owner Alex G. Campbell Jr., as Ultra Brat seemed headed to victory when she surged to a length lead in mid-stretch over the tiring pacesetter Hawksmoor. The wire simply came up a stride too late for her as the 15-1 shot could not hold off Sistercharlie and lost by a matter of inches. 

"I'm thrilled," Motion said. "She re-confirmed that I thought she belonged the race, but it was a tough beat."

In her previous start, Ultra Brat won the May 19 Gallorette (G3T) at Pimlico Race Course by 10 1/4 lengths.

A Raving Beauty, owned by Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin's Madaket Stable, and Mike Caruso's Bethlehem Stables and trained by Brown, suffered a different kind of rough loss. The Just A Game (G1T) winner was checked by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. on the final turn and ran well to finish third in the field of seven, three-quarters-of-a-length behind Ultra Brat. Hawksmoor, Proctors Ledge, New Money Honey, and War Canoe completed the order of finish.

"As Irad went for a hole, it closed up pretty fast and she was steadied badly. Remarkably, she somehow finished third," Brown said of A Raving Beauty. "She was sitting on a big race."