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Minorette makes the grade in Belmont Oaks
Wonderfully tried to ratchet up pressure on Sea Queen through a mile in 1:38, but the front runner was traveling conspicuously better. Putting a sputtering Wonderfully away in the stretch, Sea Queen threatened to pull a 9-1 upset. But Minorette was rallying into contention, and soon gained revenge for her recent loss. In the Wonder Again, she had been hunted down late by Sea Queen. Now Minorette played the hunter's role, overtaking Sea Queen and striding two lengths clear. The chestnut negotiated 1 1/4 grassy miles in 2:01 3/5 and returned $14.60 for her first career stakes score. "She moves like she wanted to go longer," Rosario observed. "Last time, I moved a little early to take the lead and she waited a little bit. This time I wanted to be a little closer because it looked like there wasn't a lot of speed. I could see (Sea Queen) on the outside and wanted to keep an eye on her, and I didn't want to move early. When she took the lead she just kept on going." "Joel got to know her a bit," Brown said. "She was really training big coming into this race. We were pretty confident she'd give a good showing of herself in here." Sea Queen held second by 1 1/4 lengths from her stablemate Summer Solo, handing trainer Christophe Clement both minor awards. "Both fillies ran very well; they were second- and third-best," Clement said. "It was fun to have a top-class 1 1/4-mile race for three-year-old fillies at this time of the year. They both ran a great race and nobody can take that away from them. We were expecting to be on the lead or close to the lead (with Sea Queen); she's a galloper, and that's what she likes. Summer Solo ran great. I knew she was going to run a good race; she's trained so well. She's a very nice New York-bred." "It looked like there wasn't a lot of speed," Sea Queen's rider Irad Ortiz Jr. said, "and (Clement) told me, 'See how she breaks, and if she's on the lead easy, it's OK. And if not, go wherever you are comfortable.' I'm very happy with her. We tried hard." Xcellence closed with interest for fourth, but trainer Francois Doumen was wondering what might have been. "This was her maximum distance today," Doumen noted. "The pace was too slow. She was sitting so far back. (Jockey Gerald Mosse) really would have had to go around, so he had to sit and wait. She had too much to do at the end. She did her best. If the pace had been stronger, she would have had a different race and been nearer." "The pace was not fast enough," Mosse agreed. "I was getting closer by the half-mile, trying to not give her too much to do. She struggled the last sixteenth." Wonderfully wound up fifth, followed by Goldy Espony, a French import who was making her debut for Brown here; Room Service; Flying Jib; Rosalind; and Recepta. My Conquestadory was withdrawn, with her owners, Conquest Stables, expressing concern about the conditions. Minorette was bred for success. By Smart Strike and out of Group 2 heroine Silk and Scarlet, she is a half-sister to Group 1 victors Master of Hounds and Eishin Apollon. Minorette got off to a good start by capturing her career debut at Naas last summer, but failed to build on that effort. Fourth in the Group 2 Debutante -- the race won by her dam in 2004 -- and a close third in the Flame of Tara, Minorette concluded 2013 with a tailed-off last in the Group 3 C.L. Weld Park Stakes. Leaving Ballydoyle in hopes of finding a happier hunting ground in the United States, Minorette showed promise in her first two outings for Brown. She was a closing third in an entry-level allowance at Keeneland April 6. Minorette launched her bid earlier to strike the front in the Wonder Again, only to be caught by Sea Queen. Rosario timed the move perfectly on Saturday. "The more I got to train her, even before we first ran her, she just moved and looked like a mile-and-a-quarter horse," Brown said. "Her pedigree wouldn't deter you from that, either. We just took our time with her. "I tell you, the Coolmore group, wonderful organization to train for. They never told me where to run, when to run. 'It's a nice filly we're giving you, and just give us some feedback.' After the race at Keeneland at a mile when she was closing pretty good and got a good number out of the race, I immediately circled this big one and said, 'Let's just go for it.' I gave her a local prep and it worked, because that's what preps are for. She got a run over the course, and the jock got to know her. When the money counted today, he rode her perfect." Minorette was capping a quick double for the barn, as one race earlier, Brown had sent out Zivo to land the Grade 2 Suburban Handicap. "A big day, a wonderful day of racing they put on here," the trainer said. "It's exciting just to be part of it. I'm lucky to even have horses to be part of most of the program. To walk away with two winners, a great day for me and my team. I'm here doing the interview, but I'll tell you I have a wonderful staff underneath me that's working day in and day out. And without them, none of this is possible." Brown's barn continues to get richer. Aside from Minorette and Goldy Espony, Xcellence reportedly will remain stateside with Brown, making it a trio of Belmont Oaks alumnae in his care. Now the third top-level winner produced by Silk and Scarlet, Minorette has bankrolled $603,761 from her 7-2-1-2 line. Bred in Kentucky by the Silk and Scarlet Syndicate, named for the Sadler's Wells mare, Minorette counts 1984 Ribblesdale winner Ballinderry as her third dam. Ballinderry, who is responsible for 1990 French Derby hero Sanglamore, hails from the family of multiple Group 1 star Lydian and ill-fated Grade/Group 1 queen Matiara. Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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