Madison County to race for America’s top trainer

Cover Image courtesy of Breeders' Cup Eclipse Sportswire

Madison County (NZ) (Pins) may have been luckless in recent starts but a return to the winner’s circle seems foreordained now that it has been announced by the China Horse Club that he is about to join the barn of trainer Chad Brown. Such is Brown’s reputation in America, where he has burst out of the pack to be recognised as the most successful trainer in the U.S.

Brown has won three straight titles as the nation’s outstanding trainer and will likely land a fourth when the Eclipse Awards are announced early next year. Had there been any doubt that Brown would win a fourth straight Eclipse, he put it to rest at the Breeders’ Cup, where he won three races. The list includes a win in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf, which was won by Bricks and Mortar (USA) (Giant’s Causeway {USA}). The 5-year-old completed an undefeated campaign (six for six) and is the heavy favourite to be named U.S. Horse of the Year for 2019.

Through to November 12, Brown led all North American-based trainers with US$29.8 million (AU$43,638,737) in earnings and leads the race for most graded stakes wins (52) this year and stakes wins overall (75).

“Chad was an easy call,” said Michael Wallace, the bloodstock and racing manager for the China Horse Club. “He has a strong record on taking these horses from different jurisdictions and integrating them into the way of American training and racing on the turf.”

While Brown does not appear to have any weakness as a trainer, his specialty is turf racing, which has been increasing in popularity in the U.S. in recent years. He clearly has no equal when it comes to winning major grass races and his barn is so well stocked with turf runners that it’s not unusual for him to have two or three entrants in a major stakes on the grass. All three of his Breeders’ Cup wins came on the turf this year and were among his 17 Group 1 wins in turf stakes.

Brown’s year included a sweep of the three Group 1 turf races on the Arlington Million Day card at Arlington Park, plus a win in the only other graded turf stakes on the card. Another accomplishment of note came in the G3 Lake George S. at Saratoga, where all three runners in the race were trained by Brown.

His story is even more remarkable when considering that he is only 40 and has been training only since 2007.

Brown began as a racing fan. He grew up near the famed Saratoga racetrack and would often accompany his parents to the races. His first jobs in racing were at the standardbred track in Saratoga, but he soon gravitated toward thoroughbreds and secured a summer job with Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. He studied animal sciences at the prestigious Cornell University and graduated from the upstate New York university in 2001. Brown got his first major break when he was hired by Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel as an assistant in 2002.

He went out on his own with only 10 horses but made a splash almost overnight when winning the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with Maram (USA) (Sahm {USA}) in 2007. His stable continued to grow and in 2013 he finished third in North America in earnings. He has been in the top three ever since and 2019 will be the fourth straight year he has led in the category.

Buying imports

Much of his success has come with European imports. Brown and his advisors are constantly on the look out for European horses they feel can flourish in the U.S. and the majority that they have imported have met with success in the U.S. The list includes champions Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}), Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}), Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}) and Zagora (Fr) (Green Tune {USA}).

Saying that he finds it harder all the time to buy tried European imports for a fair price, Brown has recently taken to buying at the major European yearling sales. He bought Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2017 and won the G1 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies with her.

It is easier for European imports to make the transition to U.S. racing than Southern Hemisphere horses, but Wallace believes that U.S. racing will provide ample opportunities for Madison County.

“The move was an opportunity to test the waters and try something new,” he said. “We’ve always tried to keep a very open mind to everything. The fact that he’s a gelding makes the decision commercially easier.”

Brown said he had experience dealing with Australian and New Zealand imports when working for Frankel, but that this would be the first Australasian horse that he has trained on his own.

“They think he is a class horse who will do well in America,” Brown told TDN AusNZ. “They asked if I wanted to train him and I said that I would love to. He looks like a very accomplished horse and hopefully he will fit well into our program. This is something different for me and I’m excited about it.”

When reached on Wednesday, Brown said Madison County had not yet arrived at his barn. When he does, he will join Brown’s string in Florida at the Palm Meadows training centre. Because Madison County had yet to enter training for him, Brown said it was premature to make any plans so far as his 2020 racing schedule goes.

Although Madison County won two Group 1s over 1600 metres, it wouldn't be surprising if Brown decides to stretch the New Zealand-bred out in distance as most of America’s richest turf races are held at 1800 metres or further.

Another expectation is that Brown will not be in any hurry with Madison County. He is a proponent of what has become the preferred style for American trainers, to space a horse’s races apart and to run them no more than five or six times a year.