3D: Stacelita wins Beverly D for Schwartz
Prominent thoroughbred owner Martin Schwartz had some kind words for Arlington Park chairman Richard Duchossois on Saturday afternoon.
“You do the best job in racing,” the 66-year-old Schwartz told the Arlington boss.
And Schwartz does the best job in the Beverly D, a Grade I stake race named after Duchossois’ late wife Beverly.
The Wall Street trader from southern Florida won an unprecedented third Beverly D on Saturday with 9-5 favorite Stacelita.
The 5-year-old French-bred mare came home a 1¼-length winner over Dubawi Heights in the Grade I $750,000 1¼-miles turf event run on yielding sod before a crowd of 31,069 at Arlington Park.
Schwartz bought half ownership of Stacelita in May of 2009 and became the sole owner in December of 2010.
Stacelita had run exclusively in Europe until her third-place finish in the United States at Monmouth last month.
“A lot of Europeans do not like to race their horses at 5 years old,” Schwartz said. “But she brings so much joy to me to watch her. I was overwhelmed with emotion watching her win.”
Trainer Chad Brown has been training for Schwartz since last August.
“Mr. Schwartz deserves a lot of credit,” Brown said. “He writes the checks, puts up big money and takes big gambles. And he’s not afraid to ship horses.”
Jockey Ramon Dominguez was hardly afraid to let Dubawi Heights set almost all the fractions in the Beverly D before Stacelita took command near the eighth pole.
“I had an absolutely wonderful trip,” Dominguez said. “Nice and relaxed — comfortable fractions. Once I found a seam on the rail, I had to go for it and she reached for it.”
The Breeders Cup is now within reach. That will be the main objective for Stacelita with the Flower Bowl at Belmont as a likely prep.
“Stacelita was running against the boys too often in Europe,” Brown said. “She deserves to be running with her gender now.”
And the Beverly D ladies, including Duchossois’s defending champ Eclair de lune (sixth), proved no match for Stacelita on Saturday.
Schwartz believes the 32-year-old Brown makes a perfect match.
“I’ve had about 12 to 15 different trainers,” said Schwartz, who won the 2005 (Angara) and 2006 (Gorella) Beverly D. “But I’ve got the right one now. He’s Ivy League-educated, has the right training (understudy to Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel) and is as humble as I am.”