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Brown to saddle tough trio in Delahaye, Venencia and Root Cause in $135K Forever Together

by Keith McCalmont

Four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown will send out a triple threat of contenders in Delahaye, Venencia and Root Cause in Sunday’s $135,000 Forever Together, a 1 1/16-mile outer turf test for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Forever Together honors the 2008 Champion Grass Mare who won that year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf for George Strawbridge, Jr.’s Augustin Stables.

Delahaye [post 8, Flavien Prat, 125 pounds], a 4-year-old Medaglia d’Oro bay bred and co-owned by Three Chimneys Farm with William Lawrence, makes her first start since a close third in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Ballston Spa on August 22 at Saratoga Race Course.

The talented dark bay, who boasts an 8-4-1-3 ledger for purse earnings of $482,715, captured the Listed Tom Benson Memorial in March at Fair Grounds. She would make her next two outings at Churchill Downs, finishing third behind stablemates Chili Flag and Coppice in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile in May before taking the Grade 3 Mint Julep over yielding footing on June 2.

Delahaye completed the trifecta behind her victorious stablemate Beaute Cachee in each of her last two starts, missing by one length in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Matchmaker on July 20 at Monmouth Park and by 3/4-lengths in the Ballston Spa when a half-length back of stablemate Gina Romantica, who exited that effort to successfully defend her title in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland.

Delahaye, who has never been beaten by more than two lengths, was a $550,000 purchase at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and is out of the unraced War Front mare Bella Carina, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winners Valid and Malibu Prayer.

Venencia [post 3, Manny Franco, 121 pounds, blinkers ON], a 4-year-old French-bred daughter of Recoletos, is owned by Bradley Thoroughbreds, Laura Leigh Stable, Jim Cone, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Team Hanley, and Cambron Equine.

She made a winning debut in November 2022 over synthetic at Chantilly for her former trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias before joining the Brown stable and landing third in her stateside debut in April at Keeneland. Venencia finished fifth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Wonder Again last June to close out her sophomore season.

The late-running Venencia, out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Sign of Life, has made a pair of allowance starts this year. She closed to finish third in September traveling 1 1/16-miles over firm Spa turf to miss by three lengths to next-out Athenia winning stablemate Child of the Moon. Last out, traveling one-mile on October 10 here, she closed sharply from last-of-10 to complete the exacta behind her stablemate Brisbane.

Brown, who won this event previously with Penjade [2017] and Chili Flag [2023], will also be represented by Jeffrey Drown’s stakes-placed Root Cause [post 7, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 121 pounds], who looks to make amends from a distant last-of-8 effort last out in a nine-furlong optional-claimer on September 2 at the Spa.

The 4-year-old Into Mischief bay sports a consistent 8-2-2-1 ledger that includes a rallying runner-up effort in the nine-furlong Listed Virginia Oaks last September at Colonial Downs and a frontrunning neck score over the aforementioned Child of the Moon – next-out winner of the Listed Athenia here - in a 1 1/16-mile allowance on July 19 at Saratoga.

The $375,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale purchase, a half-sister to dual graded stakes-winner Vertical Oak, is out of the dual stakes-winning Pollard’s Vision mare Vertical Vision.

John T. Behrendt’s Edict [post 4, John Velazquez, 123 pounds] landed a close fifth under returning Hall of Famer John Velazquez in her stateside debut in the nine-furlong Listed Athenia for trainer David Donk.

The 4-year-old Il Campione bay was a dual Group 1-winner in her native Argentina for conditioner Eduardo Accosano, taking the Enrique Acebal in November and the Copa de Plata Roberto Vazquez Mansilla Internacional one month later.

Edict, who was named Argentina’s Champion 3-Year-Old Filly last year, bumped with Spirit And Glory at the break in the Athenia before tracking that rival from second. She battled for position in upper stretch but faded in the final eighth of a mile to land 2 3/4-lengths back of Child of the Moon.

Donk said Edict, who worked back a half-mile in 50.44 seconds Sunday over the Belmont Park dirt training track, benefitted from her first start in the country.

"It was a good race for her first time. She came out of it really well and breezed well the other day,” Donk said. “We are looking forward to running her back again.

“I think she was a little short for it,” Donk added. “She had an interrupted breeze schedule a bit. We knew that going in. I think Johnny was pretty happy with the effort. She'll get a lot out of it."

Donk said he expects another prominent effort from Edict.

"I think that's her style. She is always going to be tactical,” Donk said. “I think down the road she is a filly that runs a mile and a quarter – but, it is a two-turn race, and she certainly will be 100 percent for this one."

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, Tango Uniform Racing, and Steven Rocco’s dual graded stakes-placed Breath Away [post 5, Dylan Davis, 121 pounds] arrives from a game third in the one-mile Grade 3 Noble Damsel on September 21 here under returning rider Dylan Davis.

Trained by Christophe Clement, the 4-year-old Bated Breath dark bay was bumped hard at the break but recovered quickly to save ground from fourth position as Ocean Club showed the way over the firm turf. Davis tipped Breath Away five-wide for the stretch run, and she responded willingly to land a head back of the victorious Ocean Club and a nose back of runner-up Five Towns.

Breath Away captured the Listed Sanibel Island last April at Gulfstream Park in a strong sophomore campaign that included a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss at Santa Anita Park along with runner-up efforts in both the Listed Tropical Park Oaks at Gulfstream and the Hilltop at Pimlico Race Course.

Breath Away, out of the Nayef mare Darling Grace, is a full-sister to Grade 3-winner Simply Breathless. She has banked $288,660 through an 11-3-4-2 record.

Rounding out a talented field are stakes-winner Canisy [post 9, Kendrick Carmouche, 123 pounds] for conditioner Arnaud Delacour; 2022 Nellie Mae Cox-winner Tass [post 6, Javier Castellano, 121 pounds], who returns from a more than nine-month layoff for trainer Jorge Abreu; four-time winner Payout Ratio [post 2, Francisco Martinez, 121 pounds] for conditioner Miguel Vera; and allowance winner Quarrel [post 1, Jose Ortiz, 121 pounds] for trainer Robert Ribaudo. Movie Moxy is entered for the main-track only.

The Forever Together is slated as Race 7 on Sunday’s nine-race card which also features the Grade 3, $300,000 Long Island in Race 8. First post is 12:10 pm. Eastern.

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack fall meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.

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