Brown continues Diana domination as Kathynmarissa tops trifecta

With the top four betting choices in a seven-horse field, trainer Chad Brown held a strong hand in pursuit of a record-extending 11th victory in Saturday’s Diana (G1). Brown continued his dominance of the $500,000 feature by sweeping the trifecta. 

Heavy rain at Saratoga provided the variable, turning the turf yielding, but bettors sided with the right Brown entrant in 2.29-1 favorite Kathynmarissa. Under a well-timed ride by Jose Ortiz, the daughter of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah rallied in deep stretch to catch front-running Segesta. 

Stablemate Portfolio Duration checked in another 2 1/4 lengths back in third. British shipper Cathedral barely held off Brown’s Dynamic Pricing to prevent a clean sweep of the superfecta. Ozara and Five G concluded the order under the wire.

Kathynmarissa was turning the tables on Portfolio Duration, who wired the New York (G1) in their latest, leaving Kathynmarissa back in third. Aside from the change in the course condition on Saturday, the Diana also unfolded differently for both. 

Portfolio Duration might have been expected to take up a forward position here, but she got wrangled back early. While Kathynmarissa found herself farther back than planned, she enjoyed the deep-closing tactics that worked so well for her in the Modesty (G3) at Churchill Downs two starts back. 

Segesta was the one who tried to exploit her tactical speed in a paceless race. The Juddmonte homebred dictated through fractions of :23.92, :50.42, and 1:15.75, got away from early stalkers Ozara and Cathedral, and maintained control well into the stretch.

Portfolio Duration made a brief bid at the top of the lane, but Kathynmarissa outkicked her to emerge as the danger to Segesta. Although the longtime leader dug in gamely, she could not fend off the surging Kathynmarissa. The favorite got up by a half-length in a final time of 1:51.42 on the yielding inner turf. 

Ortiz commented that it wasn’t the game plan to sit near the back of the pack. 

“When we hit the first turn, I noticed the pace backed up a lot,” Ortiz said. “Five G wasn’t (on the pace), so I knew it was going to be a problem, but I was already committed to my position behind Manny (Franco on Portfolio Duration). So, I stuck with it and just hoped for the best. She gave me a great turn of foot. (Runner-up) Segesta got very good fractions early on and she was able to run on for second, but Kathynmarissa was very good today.”

“I’m really pleased that we got some rain,” Brown said. “Actually, it wasn’t clear on paper that the first two finishers would appreciate give in the ground, but I think the turf course was pretty thirsty. I know it is listed as yielding, but I can tell you that it could use at least the first portion of that rainstorm to get into the ground, inside (the ground).

“We started off the meet a little bit slow, but when there’s some give in the ground and my horses can get their toe in it, they really accelerate no matter where they are positioned. It’s just the way I train and especially high-quality turf horses, that’s what they really want to do, even on firm courses. So I was very, very pleased when it started raining today and the first two finishers ran very, very well.

"Portfolio Duration might have worn herself out a little in the first turn,” Brown added. “I thought she’d be a little closer, I have to watch the replay, but she might have had a little trouble, might have worn her out a little bit, pulling on her a little bit.”

The connections of fourth-placer Cathedral, on the other hand, wished that the rain had stayed away. 

“She is a fast-ground filly,” trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy said. “We were questioning the ground. I think a step back up in trip, to 11 or 12 furlongs, and we’ll see the best of her. Fast ground, farther in trip.

“I think her positioning was perfect. Unfortunately, they went a slow pace, which didn’t help us. If they went faster, it would’ve helped us. They turned it into a sprint, and that is not what she wanted.”

“We were a little bit unfortunate,” AMO Racing impresario Kia Joorabchian said. “We came over here for fast ground, and it was a bit soft as (jockey) Ricardo (Santana Jr.) just said to us. It was what we were trying to avoid running on with her and that got her. He said when he asked her to go, she kept getting stuck in it because it’s a little on the soft side. Sometimes, that’s your luck. You haven’t had rain in Saratoga for a month and on the day of the Diana (it rains).

“Chad had four in the race, and he was dictating the pace and everything as well. It’s a tough ask, but she ran a good race and we’re happy with her.”

Michael J. Caruso and Michael Dubb’s Kathynmarissa was earning her first Grade 1 laurel, boosting her bankroll to $1,940,745 from a record of 14-6-2-3. Yet she had run consistently well in elite company. For original trainer Rick Dutrow, Kathynmarissa won the 2024 Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs and finished second in the Saratoga Oaks (G2) to Cinderella’s Dream and in the American Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita to She Feels Pretty. 

Switched to Brown in 2025, Kathynmarissa made a spectacular debut for the barn in an allowance over the Diana course and distance last summer. She wasn’t seen again until the May 1 Modesty, where she exploded from last to upset Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) winner Gezora. She tracked early in the 1 3/16-mile New York, only to tire late in third, but the Diana tactics worked to her advantage. 

Bred by Don Alberto Corp. in Kentucky and sold for $200,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Kathynmarissa is out of Chilean classic heroine La Dalila, by the Dynaformer stallion Milt’s Overture. Kathynmarissa is a half-sister to Chilean champion La Poetisa, who emulated their dam by capturing the Las Oaks (G1).  

Coronation Cup (G3)

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) queen Cy Fair was cross-entered versus the boys in Sunday’s Quick Call (G3), but she opted to lord it over fellow fillies in the $218,250 Coronation Cup (G3).

Targeting the Spa after missing Royal Ascot, the George Weaver pupil looked as good as ever in a stalk-and-pounce demolition job. Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez had mapped out his strategy from the rail post, and Cy Fair executed it perfectly.

The 0.53-1 favorite let Sapphire Beach go ahead and used her as the target. After fractions of :22.54 and :45.01, Cy Fair angled out, lengthened stride, and put the race away. The Not This Time filly drew 2 1/2 lengths clear while clocking 5 1/2 furlongs on the good Mellon course in 1:01.83.

“The trip was the way I was expecting,” Velazquez recapped. “I thought it was (between) only two horses. But I couldn’t be on the lead, because she’s better following somebody. She finishes much better like that. We got a little speed out of there (the gate), but I was expecting that. I knew she could finish, for sure.”

Sapphire Beach was easily best of the rest by 4 3/4 lengths from Cadenza. Hark Theangelssing and Snow Face Princess never landed a blow. Quiet Street was withdrawn along with the main-track-only hopes Hot Currency and Niche.

Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts, and Mark Stanton’s Cy Fair is now a millionaire with $1,016,015 from her 7-5-1-1 scorecard. A near-miss second in her stakes debut in last summer’s course-and-distance Bolton Landing S., she won the Alqonquin S. at Woodbine en route to the Breeders’ Cup. Cy Fair was third in her reappearance in the Limestone (G3) at Keeneland, but she rebounded in the April 30 Mamzelle (G3) at Churchill, and made it two straight here.

“I think she showed us today she’s still at the top of her game,” Weaver said. “We’re looking forward to what we can do with her.

“I think as good as she is, even though she’s a three-year-old filly, we might try to get to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) against older (horses). So, we’ll just map out a campaign that gets us there and see what she can do.”

Bred by Marc Keller in Kentucky, Cy Fair is out of Remarqued, who is an Arch half-sister to Weaver’s 2023 Queen Mary (G2) winner, Crimson Advocate. Weaver purchased Cy Fair for $185,000 as an OBS April juvenile.