Portfolio Duration just hangs on from Cankoura in New York

Chad Brown and Flavien Prat teamed up to win both of Friday’s turf stakes during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga.

Portfolio Duration was brave on the front end in the $750,000 New York (G1), staving off the furious late charge of French shipper Cankoura. Earlier, sophomore stablemate Fitz Right wore down favored Lion Lake to prevail in the $300,000 Wonder Again (G2).

The Brown/Prat tandem also struck on the main track with Ways and Means defending her crown in the Bed o’Roses (G3). Like Portfolio Duration, Ways and Means sports the Klaravich Stable colors. 

New York (G1)

British-bred Portfolio Duration was coming off a near-miss second in her stakes debut in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G2) on Kentucky Derby Day. The step up to 1 3/16 miles figured to suit her well, and the 4-1 shot made the most of a heady Prat ride.

Although Portfolio Duration had not led in her prior starts going shorter, she had enough tactical speed to take on the pacesetting role here. Leveraging her rail post, Portfolio Duration readily established control through fractions of :24.39, :49.21, and 1:12.17.

One of her stablemates, 25-1 longshot Pretty Picture, initially stalked in second. Another Brown trainee, the 3.76-1 second choice Kathynmarissa, improved position down the backstretch and loomed a threat on the far turn. 

At that stage, 1.82-1 favorite Gezora was already backpedaling. The reigning Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) heroine, who was just transferred from Brown to Bill Mott, was perched nearer to the pace than usual. But she could not capitalize on that placement.

Just as Gezora came up empty, an old friend from her French days, Cankoura, was gaining ground on the inside. The Francis-Henry Graffard trainee angled out into the clear down the stretch and took off after the leaders.

Portfolio Duration repelled the bid of Kathynmarissa, only to have Cankoura bearing down on her late. Digging deep and reaching determinedly for the wire, Portfolio Duration just lasted by a head. The bay clocked 1:52.50 on the firm Mellon course and rewarded her loyalists with $10.

Kathynmarissa kept on for third, followed by stablemates City Girl and Pretty Picture. Next came Laurelin, Speed Shopper, and the disappointing Gezora. Bellezza was scratched.

Portfolio Duration’s first stakes coup boosted her bankroll to $630,400 from her 5-3-2-0 line. The $190,731 Tattersalls October yearling began her career at Tampa Bay Downs this past winter. She missed by a head on debut, but roared back to romp in maiden and allowance company. If her inexperience told at Churchill, Portfolio Duration showed that she’s a quick learner here.

Brown has now collected a record six trophies in the New York – Dacita (2016), Fourstar Crook (2018), Homerique (2019), Bleecker Street (2022), and Marketsegmentation (2023). All but Fourstar Crook went on to contest the Diana (G1) back at the Spa, with Dacita the only one of this group to win both.

Portfolio Duration was contributing to a big day for her sire, Night of Thunder. His Group 1-winning daughter Thundering Nights is the proud dam of Friday’s Epsom Oaks (G1) romper, Thundering On (by Frankel). Ironically, Thundering Nights ran in the New York herself in 2021, just missing to Mean Mary. 

Bred by Michael E. Wates, CBE, Portfolio Duration is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Cormorant. Their dam, Shemya, is a daughter of Dansili and multiple Group 3 scorer Shemima, a highweight staying mare. Shemima is also the ancestress of recent Sheepshead Bay (G3) victress No Show Sammy Jo. Further in the family, one finds Dynamic Pricing, who won last year’s Just a Game (G1) for Brown and Klaravich. 

Wonder Again (G2)

Last seen dominating the April 26 Memories of Silver S. at Aqueduct, Fitz Right handled the class rise into graded competition in the Wonder Again. Prat had the 3.09-1 chance well placed in third early off a steady pace.

Lion Lake, the 1.34-1 favorite, tracked front-running Coach Mazzula through splits of :24.42 and :48.48. Accosting the leader at the six-furlong mark in 1:11.61, Lion Lake put her away at the top of the lane.

But Fitz Right was on the move herself, and the Charlatan filly inexorably reeled in Lion Lake. She edged away by a length while finishing 1 1/16 miles on the firm inner turf in 1:40.39.

Time to Dream rallied for third, another three-quarters of a length back, and Coach Mazzula weakened to fourth. Quiet Street, Call on Me, and Brown’s other runner, Tax Holiday, concluded the order of finish. Soloist and the main-track-only Pashmina were scratched. 

Campaigned by Michael Dubb, William H. Lawrence, The Elkstone Group, and Michael E. Kisber, Fitz Right advanced her record to 6-4-1-0, $301,950. The chestnut broke her maiden at The Meadowlands in her second start, but she wasn’t quite ready for stakes company when sixth in last fall’s Chelsey Flower S. at Aqueduct. 

Fitz Right has been unbeatable this term, resuming with a 5 1/2-length allowance romp at Tampa Bay Downs on the way to her stakes breakthrough in the Memories of Silver. She paid $8.18 for her Wonder Again victory.

Brown was racking up his seventh win in this stepping stone to the July 4 Belmont Oaks (G1). Beloved champion Lady Eli (2015) and New Money Honey (2017) turned the double, but his subsequent Wonder Again winners – Cambier Parc (2019), Consumer Spending (2022), Prerequisite (2023), and Segesta (2024) – all settled for minor awards in the Belmont Oaks.

Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Fitz Right sold for $200,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. She is out of the Grade 3-winning Henny Hughes mare I’m a Looker, from the family of multiple Grade 1 star Dortmund, the third-placer in the 2015 Kentucky Derby (G1).