Two More Horses Qualify for Breeders’ Cup
‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge Series Sends Dacita and Beach Patrol to Breeders’ Cup
Saturday’s Arlington Park International Festival of Racing featured five big graded stakes races on the biggest day of racing in Illinois. And trainer Chad Brown was beaming as two of his horses won featured back-to-back races to qualify for the Breeders’ Cup Nov. 3-4 at Del Mar.
Dacita won the $600,000 Beverly D. Stakes (video) to earn a fees-paid trip to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
Beach Patrol won the other thrilling finish, holding off the favorite to win the $1,000,000 Arlington Million (video). The victory sends Beach Patrol to the $4 Million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Dacita rallied in the deep stretch to overtake the favorite Dona Bruja and win the $600,000 Beverly D. Stakes by a half-length. Grand Jete made a late rush to finish in a dead heat for 2nd after getting boxed in along the rail in the stretch.
DACITA winning The Bev D at Arlington International on 8/12/17, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr up
Dacita, the 6-year-old Chilean-bred daughter of Scat Daddy, completed 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.49 over the firm turf. Dacita returned $15.80, $5.20 and $4.40 while the dead-heat runner-ups Dona Bruja ($2.40 and $2.80) and Grande Jete ($3.00 and $3.80) were strong in a close and exciting finish.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series
The victory was trainer Chad Brown’s fourth Beverly D. score and his third consecutive following Watsdachances in 2015 and Sea Calisi last year. Brown’s other two runners Grande Jete and Rainha Da Bateria both finished strong in 2nd and 4th to earn a nice payday as well.
Dacita won her 10th race in 19 starts and for the first time in 2017. This was her second G1 victory since coming to the U.S. in 2015 from Chile, where she was a multiple G1 winner. She now boasts earnings of just under $1.4 million.
Beach Patrol digs in gamely in deep stretch to win Arlington Million
Beach Patrol took control of the final stretch of the 35th running of the Million, passing the favorite Deauville and holding off the late charge by long shot Fanciful Angel by 1½ lengths.
Ridden by Joel Rosario, Beach Patrol snapped a six-race skid and ran 1 1/4 miles on a firm turf course in 2:02.39 at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago. He paid $11.60, $6 and $4 as the 9-2 second choice in the 12-horse field.
Fanciful Angel, a 73-1 shot, stayed on the rail and made a bold rally late to get 2nd and return $51.40 and $10.40. Deauville, the 9-5 favorite, rallied in a crowded stretch and took a brief lead at the eighth pole before being caught and 
was another neck back in 3rd. Enterprising, the longest shot in the field at 80-1, came from the very back at the mile marker to rally for fourth, igniting a huge .10 cent superfecta payoff of $4,074.15.
A $1 exacta returned $497.50 and a .50 cent trifecta paid $885.75.
Brown also became the first trainer to win the track’s biggest races of the year in the same day. He picked up one of the best trophy’s in horse racing with the Arlington Million win too.
