Brown saddles Lemista, Pocket Square in attempt to extend G1 Diana record
At 0h03, on July 16, 2021 • By SARATOGA
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will send out Lemista and Pocket Square in Saturday’s 83rd renewal of the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana as he looks to secure his sixth consecutive win in the nine-furlong inner-turf test for older fillies and mares at Saratoga Race Course.
Brown captured the first of his record six Diana wins in 2011 with Zagora and has enjoyed success in the last five editions with Dacita [2016], Lady Eli [2017], Sistercharlie [2018-19] and Rushing Fall [2020].
A former assistant to the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, himself a two-time Diana winner, Brown spoke about his affinity for the prestigious race on a recent episode of the Across the Board with Andy Serling podcast.
“We’ve had enormous success with it; I’m lucky. We’ve had the right horses,” said Brown. “It’s a real honor to have that level of success looking back at five Dianas in a row. These are the [types of] races Frankel would point towards.”
Brown will saddle Lemista, a 4-year-old daughter of Raven’s Pass, for three-time Diana winning owner Peter Brant, who campaigned Sistercharlie [2018-19] and Just a Game [1980] to Diana scores.
Lemista earned a 100 Beyer in her North American debut in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Beaugay on May 8 at Belmont, finishing a late-closing second to Diana-rival Harvey’s Lil Goil.
The Irish-bred dark bay, previously trained by Ger Lyons, captured the Group 2 Kilboy Estate three starts back at the Curragh.
Lemista has trained extensively on the Belmont inner turf following the Beaugay, posting eight works dating back to May 22, including a five-furlong effort in 1:01.80 on Sunday in company with Pocket Square [1:01.89].
“She’s a top class filly. I have high hopes for her,” Brown said. “We’ve been pointing for this race for a while and I’m excited to get to it. I think that the time has done her well. She’s been working consistently well.”
Juddmonte Farms’ Pocket Square, a Group 3 winner at Deauville in October 2019 for former trainer Roger Charlton, rallied to an impressive allowance win in her North American debut on April 7 at Keeneland.
Brown said Pocket Square, by Night of Thunder, missed a breeze heading into her even fifth last out as the lukewarm favorite in the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game, a one-mile jaunt over good turf on June 5 at Belmont.
“She missed her last work with the storms that came through and maybe the soft-ish turf didn’t help,” said Brown. “I really thought she was lined up really well going into the Just a Game and I was hopeful she could overcome, but things just didn’t work out. She’s come back and worked really super, so I’m drawing a line through it and going right back at another Grade 1 with her.”
Despite good form over soft going in Europe, Brown said he would prefer firmer footing for Pocket Square.
“I know she ran well in Europe that way [on good-firm ground], but I think she’s more effective on a firm turf course from what I’ve seen in her training,” said Brown.
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will also look to extend his Diana win record to seven, piloting Pocket Square from post 2, while Irad Ortiz, Jr. will guide Lemista from post 7.
