SISTERCHARLIE HEADS BROWN 1-2-3 IN BEVERLY D.

By Bailey Gallison —-

Sistercharlie; All photos by Coady Photography

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (August 11, 2018) – In case there were any doubt who the greatest trainer of turf females in the U.S. is, Chad Brown won his fourth straight edition of the Grade I $600,000 Beverly D. with favored Sistercharlie (IRE) and also saddled the second- and third-place finishers, Fourstar Crook and Thais (FR). The 29th running, for fillies and mares 3-years-old and upwards, was contested at 1 3/16-miles over a turf course upgraded to “firm” late in the afternoon at Arlington International Racecourse.

As winner of the Beverly D., Sistercharlie receives an automatic berth into the Grade I $2,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3. It was her third Grade I score of the season, following the Jenny Wiley at Keeneland in April and the Diana at Saratoga last month.

John Velazquez, winning jockey of both Grade I events on the Arlington Million undercard, got Sistercharlie to settle toward the back early as stablemate Thais set the pace while racing alone through fractions of 24.53, 50.53, and 1:15.29. Velazquez was already riding hard just inside the three-eighths pole but Sistercharlie responded with a sweeping, four-wide move into the stretch and continued to roll past horses through the lane. Sistercharlie came to even terms with Thais about a furlong out and put that away before holding off a late charge from her other stablemate, Fourstar Crook, to win by a half-length in 1:56.77.

“We broke a little slow, like always,” said. “As soon as we went past the wire I looked for the position I wanted and I got it. Then I sat there and I saw Ryan Moore move on the outside on the backstretch and kind of pushed him out and he came in, and I kind of followed him from there. From the half-mile pole there was really one horse to beat so I put her right behind that one and when I asked her she responded really well.”

Fourstar Crook, owned by Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables and Gary Aisquith, handed Sistercharlie her only loss of the year two starts back in the Grade II New York but couldn’t make up enough ground today.

“She’s a nice mare, she tries hard,” said jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. “She got beat by Sistercharlie, one of the greatest turf fillies right now. She ran very good. I didn’t want to go too early, wanted to wait, and she got a perfect trip.”

Allen Stable and Peter Brant’s Thais managed to hold on for third at 47-1, a neck to the good of Daddys Lil Darling, who prevented a Brown superfecta by nosing out Inflexibility for fourth.

Sistercharlie, by Myboycharlie (IRE) out of Starlet’s Sister (IRE) (Galileo-IRE), earned $349,200 to raise her career haul to $1,475,603 and improved her record to six wins from ten starts while cementing her position as leader of the female turf division. It was Brown’s fifth total victory in the Beverly D., previously capturing the race with Dacita (CHI) (2017), Sea Calisi (FR) (2016), Watsdachances (IRE) (2015), and Stacelita (FR) (2011).

Sistercharlie rewarded her backers with $5.20, $2.80, $2.40, while Fourstar Crook paid $4.80 and $3.40, and Thais returned $10.20.

Nyaleti (IRE), Athena (IRE), Oh So Terrible, and Dona Bruja (ARG) completed the order of running.

GRADE I BEVERLY D. QUOTES

John Velazquez (jockey, Sistercharlie, winner): “It was a perfect trip. We broke a little slow like always. As soon as we went past the wire I looked for the position I wanted and I got it. Then I sat there and I saw Ryan Moore move on the outside into the backstretch and kind of pushed him out and he came in, and I kind of followed him from there. From the half-mile pole there was just one horse to beat so I put her right behind that one and when I asked her she responded really well.

“She’s a really good horse but she has some quirks. She can run, though.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. (jockey, Fourstar Crook, second): “She’s a nice mare, she tries hard. She got beat by Sistercharlie, one of the greatest turf fillies right now. She ran very good. I didn’t want to go to early wanted to wait and she got a perfect trip.”

Florent Geroux (jockey, Thais (FR), third): “It looked like the field was pretty spread out so I didn’t want to open up too many lengths. From there she hung on for third pretty well. Sistercharlie ended up winning, Chad ran one-two-three and we did well.”

Brian Hernandez, Jr. (jockey, Daddys Lil Darling, fourth): “She galloped out real well. Had a tough trip got stuck in behind couple of them. It looked like they were going to go on and they didn’t. Finally we were able to get a good run late but it was a little too late.”

Chad Brown (trainer, Sistercharlie, winner; Fourstar Crook, second; Thais, third): “It’s very rewarding for my staff and my owners and my mentor, I’m thinking about him right now, Bobby Frankel. He loved this race. He loved coming to Arlington, a big supporter. He taught me so much and to be able to come back and use his training techniques, everything he taught me, to come here and have success in this race is really special.”

Does Sistercharlie ever run a bad one? “No. She’s very consistent. She’s the type of mare any trainer would love to have.”

On runner-up Fourstar Crook: “Fourstar Crook is a rock-solid consistent horse as well. So fortunate to have them in the same stable and when they run against each other neither of them deserves to lose. That’s the bad part. But, both of them deserve to be in the race and that’s why we run them.”

Arlington International Racecourse – the Chicago area’s premier Thoroughbred racetrack located in Arlington Heights, Ill. – will run a 71-day meet in 2018 from May 4 through September 22. Arlington International Racecourse, whose parent company is Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN), also operates 10 off-track, simulcast-wagering facilities in Aurora, Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Waukegan, Villa Park, Rockford, Hodgkins, McHenry, Green Oaks and Orland Hills. Arlington International Racecourse is a proud member of America’s Best Racing. Information on Arlington International Racecourse and Trackside OTB can be found online at www.arlingtonpark.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/arlingtonpark and www.facebook.com/tracksideotb, and on Twitter at @Arlington_Park for the latest happenings, @ArlingtonRacing for the latest racing news and @TracksideOTB for all things pertaining to off-track wagering.