Brown looks for unprecedented 11th score in Saturday’s G1 Dunkin’ Diana

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will have four chances in Portfolio Duration, Dynamic Pricing, Kathynmarissa and Segesta to notch a record-extending 11th win in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Dunkin’ Diana, a nine-furlong inner turf test for older fillies and mares, at Saratoga Race Course.

Brown’s previous Diana victories came with Zagora [2011], Dacita [2016], Lady Eli [2017], Sistercharlie [2018-19], Rushing Fall [2020], In Italian [2022], Whitebeam [2023-24] and Excellent Truth [2025].

Of that august group, Lady Eli, Sistercharlie [2018] and Rushing Fall went on to take Eclipse Award honors as Champion Turf Female the year of their Diana score. Zagora would finish third in the 2012 Diana in her attempted title defense but completed that campaign with a win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf to secure honors as Champion Grass Mare.

"The Diana is one of the most prestigious, most important Grade 1 races in this division for older female turf horses in the country - if not, the most important race,” Brown said. “It's at that middle distance of a mile and an eighth where you'll have milers move up and mile and a quarter horses cut back. It's a really fair distance to put the best horses out there to run against each other.”

Brown’s eight individual Diana-winners have combined for a perfect in-the-money record of 23-15-5-3 over the Saratoga turf.

"It's a race I've long targeted with my best group of turf fillies each year," Brown said. "You develop a feel over time of which horses will like the course and the distance and the timing and then you work backward from this race and really play for it. Plenty of times we've been lucky enough to hit the mark with the ones that could step up and do it.”

Brown, an eight-time leading trainer at Saratoga, regards each Diana win as special and struggled to pick a favorite.

"Zagora was the first one…Lady Eli coming back from laminitis was special,” Brown said. “A horse like Sistercharlie, she ran in the race three times and won it twice and once as part of a Championship season, is remarkable.”

Klaravich Stables’ lightly-raced Portfolio Duration [post 4, Manny Franco, 124 pounds] could be the best of Brown’s four chances for an 11th Diana win and fifth consecutive.

The Night of Thunder bay sports a ledger of 5-3-2-0 and arrives from a frontrunning score over European invader Cankoura in the Spa’s Grade 1 New York contested over 1 3/16-miles of firm turf on June 5.

There, Portfolio Duration, under Flavien Prat, showed the way through splits of 24.39 seconds, 49.21 and 1:12.17, opening up a half-length lead over stablemate Kathynmarissa at the stretch call. A stubborn Portfolio Duration stayed on gamely down the lane and held off the rallying Cankoura to win by a head in a final time of 1:52.50 with Kathynmarissa another 1 1/2-lengths back in third. Portfolio Duration earned a career-best 98 Beyer Speed Figure in victory.

“I think the cutback will work into her favor,” Brown said. “She doesn't need the lead, she can run off the pace. She's a pretty versatile horse. I'm happy to see her develop this year into the horse we thought she could be.”

Portfolio Duration entered the New York from a neck defeat to Classic Q in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile on May 2 at Churchill Downs. Classic Q exited that event to win the Grade 1 Just a Game presented by Resolute Racing here.

A $190,371 purchase at the 2023 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Portfolio Duration was bred in Great Britain by Michael E. Wates CBE and is out of the Dansili mare Shemya.

Klaravich Stables is also represented by Dynamic Pricing [post 1, Edgard Zayas, 124 pounds], who will be hoping the turf comes up less than firm. She earned her biggest win here when taking down last June’s Grade 1 Just a Game on yielding footing by three-quarter lengths over Excellent Truth. That effort registered a 100 Beyer.

“She loves Saratoga,” Brown said. “She was very effective in the Just a Game over yielding turf.”

Dynamic Pricing exited her Grade 1 coup to finish third to Excellent Truth in the Diana, but returned to winning form with a rallying one-length win in the Listed Perfect Sting in August here.

The 5-year-old Night of Thunder mare was off-the-board in a pair of Grade 1s at Keeneland before stalking and pouncing to a three-quarter length second last out to stablemate City Girl in the Grade 3 Beaugay on May 3 at Belmont at the Big A.

The Irish-bred Dynamic Pricing, out of the Dutch Art mare Shemda, was a $204,442 purchase from Book 1 of the 2022 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. She has banked $981,813 through a 14-5-1-4 record.

Michael Caruso and Michael Dubb’s Kathynmarissa [post 3, Jose Ortiz, 122 pounds] made her first 10 starts for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. topped by runner-up efforts in 2024 in the Grade 2 Saratoga Oaks Invitational and Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita Park.

The 5-year-old American Pharoah mare returned from a more than five-month layoff to win an optional-claimer here in August on debut for Brown. She followed in May with a rallying win over then stablemate Gezora – last year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf-winner - after missing the break in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Modesty at Churchill.

Brown said he expected Kathynmarissa to be more forward last out when third in the New York.

“She was meant to be more forward in both of her races,” Brown said. “She missed the break at Churchill and still won. Last time, I was surprised about that. Maybe she lost a little of her speed this season, I'm not sure...but she's training well, and this distance will be fine for her.”

Kathynmarissa, out of the Milt’s Overture mare La Dalila, has banked in excess of $1.6 million via a 13-5-2-3 ledger.

Juddmonte’s Kentucky homebred Segesta [post 6, Dylan Davis, 124 pounds] won back-to-back Grade 1s with scores in the one-mile Matriarch in November at Del Mar and the 1 1/16-mile Jenny Wiley in April at Keeneland.

Last out, the 5-year-old Ghostzapper dark bay was a prominent third in the Just a Game when chasing home gate-to-wire winner Classic Q.

Segesta has twice won graded races at nine-furlongs, taking the 2024 Grade 2 Wonder Again at Belmont at the Big A and the Grade 3 Matchmaker last July at Monmouth. She has worked back four times since her Just a Game effort, including a half-mile in 50.90 July 11 over the Oklahoma dirt training track.

“She's in good form and has two races under belt this year,” Brown said. “A mile and an eighth is definitely within her scope.”

The well-bred Segesta, out of the Brown-trained 2017 Grade 1 Just a Game-winning First Defence mare Antonoe, is a half-sister to the Brown-trained Grade 1-winning Speightstown colt Salamis.

Segesta has banked in excess of $1.5 million from a 13-5-4-1 record.

Group 2-placed Cathedral [post 2, Ricardo Santana, Jr., 120 pounds] ships in from Europe with strong credentials for Kia Joorabchian’s AMO Racing Limited and trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy.

Cathedral made her first five starts for trainer Ralph Beckett, including a first-out win in September 2024 at Lingfield and Group 3 placings in the seven-furlong Oh So Sharp on the straight that October at Newmarket and the one-mile Prix Chloe last July at Chantilly.

She landed a 1 3/4-length fourth in the one-mile Group 1 Matron in September at Leopardstown in her first outing for Philippart de Foy and two starts later utilized a stalking trip to finish a strong 1 3/4-length fourth to the victorious Gezora in the 11-furlong Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in November at Del Mar.

Cathedral has made three starts this campaign led by a prominent 1 3/4-length second to Jancis in the Group 2 Dahlia at nine furlongs on the straight in May at Newmarket. She enters from an off-the-board try in the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge traveling a straight mile on June 17 at Royal Ascot.

“The filly ran well in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf last year and she ran a good race at Newmarket over a mile and one eighth over fast ground at the Guineas meeting to finish second in a Group 2,” Philippart de Foy said. “She was beaten less than two lengths in a Group 1 in Ireland in her first run for us and we knew the filly would appreciate added ground at the Breeders’ Cup.

“The filly travels well, and this seems like a good starting point for her in America. We'll see where she goes next,” he continued. “The filly came out of the Ascot race in good shape and we're looking forward to it.”

Cathedral is by Too Darn Hot, the European Champion 2-Year-Old Colt in 2018 and the European Champion 3-Year-Old Colt in 2019, who is also the sire of Title Role, winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Derby on July 4 here for trainers Simon and Ed Crisford.

“He's a sire Kia and I really like. They seem to always be trying and they like fast ground,” Philippart de Foy said. “Cathedral is a strongly-built filly, very good mentally. She's very straightforward. She's not the biggest filly, but she's strengthened a lot from 3-to-4, so I think she's in a better place than last year.”

Cathedral, out of the Frankel mare War And Peace, has earned $283,573 through an 11-1-3-1 record.

Cheyenne Stables’ Ozara [post 7, Jaime Rodriguez, 120 pounds] will put her 3-for-3 Spa record on the line for trainer Miguel Clement.

The 5-year-old Lope de Vega mare captured a division of the restricted Listed De La Rose and the Grade 2 Ballston Spa here last summer, adding to a debut graduation in 2023 when in the care of Miguel’s late father, Christophe Clement.

Ozara followed the Ballston Spa score with off-the-board efforts in a pair of Grade 1s when eighth in the First Lady in October at Keeneland and seventh in the Matriarch won by Segesta. She returned to winning form with a stalking half-length score in the Listed Miss Liberty in her seasonal debut in May at Monmouth Park.

Ozara enters from a troubled sixth in the 7 1/2-furlong Grade 3 Royal North on June 27 at Woodbine.

Bred in Ireland by Fleche D’Or Partnership, Ozara has banked $667,939 via a 17-8-2-2 record that also includes wins in three Gulfstream Park stakes, taking the 2023 Wait a While, the 2024 Listed Ginger Brew and 2025 Monroe.

A talented field also includes New York-bred Five G [post 5, John Velazquez, 120 pounds], a Grade 2-winner on dirt, who arrives from a third-place finish in the state-bred Mount Vernon on June 3 here for trainer George Weaver and owner-breeder Gatsas Stables.

The Diana is slated as Race 5 on Saturday’s 12-race program, which also includes the Grade 3, $225,000 Coronation Cup in Race 8. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern.

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