Chad Brown swept the trifecta June 10 in the $500,000 New York Stakes (gr. IIT) at Belmont Park, where Sheep Pond Partners and Bradley Thoroughbreds' Dacita swept wide at the top of the stretch and closed to win the 1 1/4-mile grass test. Video: New York S. (G2T)
Heavily favored Sea Calisi, off at 4-5, made a simultaneous closing move with her stablemate as they entered the stretch, but opted for the inside. As Dacita surged by the front-runners on the outside, Sea Calisi took the rail, had it closed off, angled out between horses, slightly stumbled in the final furlong, and came up three-quarter lengths short in second.
Guapaza completed the all-Brown trifecta after tracking early leader Photo Call through soft early fractions. Photo Call, the last-out winner of the Orchid Stakes (gr. IIIT), got out of the gate best and led the way with fractions of :25.05, :50.31, 1:15.23, and 1:39.39 through a mile. Guapaza assumed a half-length advantage at the top of the stretch but could not hold off her stablemates late.
"All three horses ran terrific, so that makes the trainer happy," Brown said. "Sea Calisi, unfortunately, didn't get a great trip inside. I felt like if she could have gotten clear maybe she would have had a better kick than she showed, but that's turf racing, especially in a short field with moderate pace."
Dacita, a Chilean-bred daughter of Scat Daddy, hit the wire in 2:01.46 on firm turf under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. It was Ortiz's third win on the Belmont card.
"When I asked she was there for me and took off," Ortiz said. "Thankfully, we got to run our own race and she got a perfect trip."
The winner paid $11.80, $4.30, and $2.90 across the board. Sea Calisi brought $2.50 and $2.10, and Guapaza delivered $2.80 to show.
Trophee finished fourth, followed by Kyllachy Queen, Photo Call, and Havana Moon to complete the order of finish.
It is Dacita's second graded stakes win since moving into Brown's care in 2015. Her first was the Ketel One Ballston Spa (gr. IIT) in August, and she now has a 8-2-1 record from 14 starts with earnings of $667,361.
