Litfin At Large: What Can Brown Do For You?

Turf racing and 2-year-olds are the focal points of the stakes action across the nation Aug. 11.

It's Arlington Million day, of course, and the 36th running of that event is preceded by two other top-level events, the $400,000 Secretariat Stakes (G1T) for 3-year-olds and the $600,000 Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) for fillies and mares. There's a Pick 3 available on those races, and if you want to increase the degree of difficulty exponentially, a 13-runner renewal of the Pucker Up Stakes (G3T) is the cash-out leg of an all-graded turf stakes Pick 4.

Saratoga Race Course puts on a couple of grass races, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) and the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure, which was wiped out by heavy rain on the back-end of last Saturday's program. Earlier on card, the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (G2) for 2-year-old fillies on the main track brings together six debut winners

Out at Del Mar, five 2-year-old males go in the $200,000 Best Pal Stakes (G2)

As far as the juveniles go, it pays to follow the money:

The 1-2 favorite in the Best Pal is Instagrand, a son of Into Mischief  who hammered for $1.2 million at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale—the top price paid for a colt at the one-day sale in late March—after breezing a bullet :10 furlong at the Under Tack Show. He won at first asking by 10 lengths in late June, as a poorly kept secret at 2-5.

The 6-5 favorite in the Adirondack is Lyrical Lady, a filly by More Than Ready  who, at $625,000, was among the top five most expensive purchases at the OBS March Sale. She was unveiled opening day at the Spa, and led from flagfall to finish by 5 3/4 lengths at odds just shy of 7-1.

As far as the day's four grade 1 turf races go, it pays to ask what Brown can do for you, because trainer Chad Brown will be represented by nine runners, including four in the Beverly D. and three in the Million.

Could he somehow win all four?

Fourstardave Hcp (Sar, race 8, 5:02 ET): Mother Nature has had some fun with this race in recent years. Recall that it was postponed for a week when a lightning storm led to a cancellation midway through the card in 2016, and last year a late-afternoon downpour rendered the course a bog, which World Approval handled with aplomb at the beginning of his run to an Eclipse Award as turf champion.

Last week's Whitney Stakes (G1) was delayed 45 minutes or so by a summer squall, but the forecast this Saturday is for rain showers early, with overcast skies to follow.

At any rate, the grass has been soaked on an off through the first part of the meet, so tread cautiously when evaluating horses who spent the early summer recording supersonic times on sun-baked turf downstate. Off going may compromise the chances of the Brown-trained Made You Look (4), who was second in the Poker Stakes (G3T) behind Oscar Performance, who is the morning-line favorite in the Million after running a mile in 1:31.23 to break Elusive Quality's long-standing course record. Made You Look's only race on non-firm ground resulted in an off-the-board finish in the American Turf Stakes Presented by Ram Trucks (G2T) last year.

Some give in the ground should be fine with Heart to Heart(5), who won the 2017 Bernard Baruch Handicap (G2T) on yielding turf at Saratoga, and also fine for Yoshida (7), who posted an upset in the Old Forester Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) first time out this year, and came from more than 20 lengths behind to win the James W. Murphy on good turf last season.

A - 7

B - 5

C - 4

Secretariat (AP, race 9, 4:48 CT): The Brown-trained Analyze It (9) will be favored against a dozen opponents, and will be relieved to see that Catholic Boy, who came again twice to beat him on the wire in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) and the Pennine Ridge Stakes (G3T), is going back to dirt for the Travers Stakes (G1) in two weeks.

Since stretching out to nine and 10 furlongs, Analyze It hasn't shown the swift turn of foot that made him such a dazzling winner of his first three races, and while he finished nearly two lengths ahead of Hunting Horn (13) in the Belmont Derby, the latter could improve second time in the United States.

The draw is a bad one for Hunting Horn, though, so I'm going to use the four Europeans in back-up roles, leaning a bit more heavily on Platinum Warrior (2) and Bandua (3), and including Ming (6) and Lucius Tiberius (12) just in case.

A - 9, 13

B - 2, 3

C - 6, 12

Beverly D. (AP, race 10, 5:25 CT): Brown's foursome is headed by 9-5 favorite Sistercharlie (3) and 9-2 third choice Fourstar Crook (7), who took turns beating each other in the Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) and the New York Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G2T).

Inflexibility (8) doesn't have the credentials of her barn mates, as she is still looking for her first graded stakes victory, but she ran well last time out in the Dance Smartly Stakes (G2T) at 10 furlongs when run down by another stable mate, Santa Monica, in deep stretch.

The 3-year-old Athena (9) will attract solid support after taking the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) in faster time than Belmont Derby two races later, and doing so just six days after running third in the Juddmonte Pretty Polly Stakes (G1T) at The Curragh.

Dona Bruja (4) dead-heated for second in last year's Beverly D., but she will need to rebound from a disappointing fifth as the favorite in the Jenny Wiley when last seen almost four months ago.

A - 3, 9

B - 7, 8

C - 4

Arlington Million (AP, race 11, 6:08 CT): The aforementioned Oscar Performance (11) won twice at 10 furlongs last year, notably a win in the Secretariat on this course, and showed good tractability coming from just off the pace to win the Poker in record time.

Oscar Performance is a deserving favorite, but post 11 is a concern against Brown's triumvirate of Almanaar (3), Money Multiplier(8) and Robert Bruce(10).

After beating stable mate and eventual Arlington Million winner Beach Patrol in the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1T) in early 2017, Almanaar was sidelined for nearly 16 months, and returned to win a high-end optional claimer at Belmont Park in early June. Although the margin of victory was only a neck, he was under only mild hand urging under a supremely confident Joel Rosario.

The Chilean import Robert Bruce suffered his first loss in the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Stakes (G1T), when buried in traffic through the stretch, while Spring Quality (2) rallied in the clear on the far outside to post an upset at 18-1.

Prior to that, the unheralded Spring Quality was a close second to Robert Bruce in the Fort Marcy Stakes (G3T) in his first outing of the season, and he concluded 2017 by winning the Red Smith (G3T) at 12-1.

If everything has gone swimmingly in earlier legs, we'll also be alive with Deauville (9), who has been third, beaten less than a length, in each of the Million's last two runnings.

A - 10, 11

B - 2, 3

C - 9