The Spa Spot: Dayatthespa looks sharp in return
Trainer Chad Brown extended his stakes-winning streak to three days on Friday with Dayatthespa's victory in the Risakaverse.
Making her first first start since April, the New York-bred filly turned in a patient, professional performance under Javier Castellano to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Peace Preserver. Sent off as the 1-2 favorite, Dayatthespa won for the fifth time in seven starts and paid $3.
Brown won the P.G. Johnson with Watsdachances on Wednesday and the Grade 2 With Anticipation with Balance the Books on Thursday. Dayatthespa extended Brown's late-season run of success and was his 27th victory. Last Saturday he won the Grade 2 Ballston Spa with Zagora.
"What a week," he said.
Dayatthespa won her first three starts of the season, but needed a break to recover from his soreness in her hind end. She was ready for the challenge in her comeback race and Brown said she is likely to run next in the Queen Elizabeth II at Keeneland in October.
“It was a terrific ride by Javier, and the filly showed up,"Brown said. "We have a patient ownership group here. Jerry and Ronny Frankel couldn’t be here today, or Peter Bradley, who bought this horse. Steve Laymon, one of the original partners, is still in it, and he’s here. When I told all of them she needed time, no one questioned me. They said, ‘Do whatever you want to do with her.’ That’s what it really takes to maintain a campaign, I think, from start to finish: patient owners and good horses.”
Dayatthespa typically sets or presses the pace, but she was content to rate early when Assateague took the lead and ran the first quarter of the mile race in :23.53.
“She broke half a step slowly, maybe just a little bit rusty from not running," Brown said. "Javier, I thought, did a good job to use her that first quarter, at least get a spot. He just told me that [Assateague] was hell-bent on having the lead. So he just went to Plan B because Plan A for us was to go right to the lead, and he executed Plan B beautifully.”