Frankie Dettori and Beaute Cachee continue to be an unbeatable team. The international riding legend engineered another frontrunning victory aboard the French import in Thursday’s $279,000 Ballston Spa (G2) at Saratoga, following coups in the Jenny Wiley (G1) and Matchmaker (G3).
Beaute Cachee gave trainer Chad Brown a record-extending eighth win in the Ballston Spa while also topping a trifecta for the barn. The achievement wasn’t as compelling in a four-horse field.
Runner-up Gina Romantica came up a neck short as the 9-10 favorite, and fellow Brown trainee Delahaye placed third. The Todd Pletcher-trained Surprisingly was fourth.
Beaute Cachee went off as the 2.55-1 second choice in the Ballston Spa, her shortest price so far in a graded stakes. Overlooked at odds of 25-1 in the April 13 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland, the gray received more respect as a 4.60-1 chance in the Matchmaker at Monmouth Park last time out.
Once again Thursday, Beaute Cachee had the speed to secure the lead, the tractability to slow the pace for a crafty Dettori, and the scrappiness to fend off challengers. The daughter of Literato was forced to go a bit faster through an opening quarter in :23.76 on the good Mellon course, but then got her breather down the backstretch.
Delahaye, who tracked in second through a half in :49.54, accosted the leader passing six furlongs in 1:15.06. Gina Romantica was likewise getting involved by that point, advancing from the rear of the compact group on the far turn.
Beaute Cachee rebuffed Delahaye at the top of the stretch and determinedly retained the lead. Gina Romantica hovered without gaining traction until the final yards, when she gradually drew nearer. But she could not reel in Beaute Cachee.
Delahaye grudgingly gave way in a close third, and Surprisingly was outkicked in fourth. They had filled the same positions behind Beaute Cachee in the Matchmaker.
Brown might have had the superfecta if not for the scratch of Coppice. Also withdrawn were the main-track-only entrants Hoosier Philly, Movie Moxy, and Amanda’s Folly.
Owned by Louis Lazzinnaro, Madaket Stables, Michael J. Caruso, and Michael Dubb, Beaute Cachee covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.41. Her resume now reads 21-6-5-2, $891,962.
“I had to use a little bit to get to the front,” Dettori recapped. “You know she is a wonderful filly. She knows how to relax as well in front.
“We showed to the world that she is a real fighter; she doesn’t give up. They all came to take me on, and she shrugged them all off. She has that will to win; that is so great. She is clever enough to be able to slow down a little bit, fill her lungs, and kick on. She is not a one-dimensional filly. She is very smart.”
Flavien Prat, the rider of Gina Romantica, believed that both the race shape and the ground were against the favorite.
“We got the race going the first quarter, but then they slowed down a little bit and it turned into a sprint going home,” Prat said. “I thought my trip was good. I tipped her out when I wanted to, and I think she’s just coming along.
“(A stronger pace) certainly wouldn’t hurt, and the ground has a bit of a cut. I think she’s better on fast ground, but I think she’s coming along nicely and hopefully she’ll run a good race next time.”
Gina Romantica and Beaute Cachee are likely to continue their rivalry in the Oct. 5 First Lady (G1) at Keeneland. Brown noted that both have performed well at the Lexington track. Gina Romantica is the reigning titleholder in the First Lady. Beaute Cachee would aim to turn the Keeneland double after her breakout performance in the Jenny Wiley, where she left Gina Romantica behind in seventh.
Brown credits Dettori for Beaute Cachee’s remarkable rise this year. She was useful in her first stateside campaign in 2023, winning the Violet S. and placing in the Athenia S. and Matriarch (G1). But when Dettori rode her for the first time in the Jenny Wiley, he made the inspired decision to change tactics.
“Frankie has really figured her out,” Brown said. “I have to give him a lot of credit, along with my team who prepared her. He’s the one who really wanted to put her on the lead at Keeneland and then again down at Monmouth last time out.
“He said, ‘You know, Chad, I have to tell you, I really do think she is happier there,’ so I listened to him.”
Dettori explained that his rationale was based on his watching her third-place effort in the Matriarch at Del Mar.
“She was unlucky. She was stuck for room and kept on kicking on,” Dettori said. “Keeneland, there was not much pace, so I decided to control it from the front. She was a longshot; no one expected her to win like that.
“Again, when she ran at Monmouth, everyone was against me, and she showed them it was no fluke. Third time again (in the Ballston Spa), she just shows you that she has a tremendous will to win. They were all keyed up to come and pass me, but she fended them all off.”
Like Beaute Cachee, Dettori will be moving on to the Bluegrass State.
“This is my sixth win (of the Saratoga meet). I won a stake. Obviously, I was the last one to come in, so all the big jobs were taken,” Dettori said.
“This is a good steppingstone for Kentucky Downs with all the grass races. I have some good connections for me going over there. Hopefully, that will translate in the autumn going to Keeneland and will set up nicely for next year and hopefully find a Kentucky Derby (G1) horse along the way.”
