Kathynmarissa leads Brown-trained trifecta for trainer’s 11th victory in G1 Dunkin’ Diana

The unparalleled dominance of trainer Chad Brown in Saratoga Race Course’s Grade 1, $500,000 Dunkin’ Diana was on full display once again as the five-time Eclipse Award-winner sent out Kathynmarissa to lead a stable trifecta in Saturday’s renewal of the nine-furlong inner turf route for older fillies and mares.

The win provided Brown with a staggering 11th Diana trophy, adding to previous victories with Zagora [2011], Dacita [2016], Lady Eli [2017], Sistercharlie [2018-19], Rushing Fall [2020], In Italian [2022], Whitebeam [2023-24] and Excellent Truth [2025]. Today, he sent out four contenders in the seven-horse field, and his victorious Kathynmarissa was followed home by pacesetter Segesta in second and the stalking Portfolio Duration in third, with Dynamic Pricing finishing fifth.

"To have a one, two, three in this race, a race we have a lot of success in, in my area, I give a lot of credit to my team,” said Brown, who minutes later also won Monmouth Park’s Grade 3 Matchmaker with Grayosh. “Four fillies in this race, three of them ran really well and it takes a lot of different tasks daily, executed perfectly to bring the horses into the Diana every year this way – and they do it.”

Campaigned by Michael Caruso and Michael Dubb, Kathynmarissa landed her first Grade 1 victory with a patient ride from Jose Ortiz, who settled the daughter of American Pharoah in next-to-last through the early stages as dual Grade 1-winning stablemate Segesta brushed with Ozara a few strides out of the gate, pricked her ears and established command through the opening quarter-mile in 23.92 seconds over the yielding turf.

Positions remained unchanged as Segesta marked a slowed down half-mile in 50.42 with Ozara to her outside and Cathedral hugging the rail in third just ahead of Portfolio Duration. The latter was coaxed into the four-path by Manny Franco entering the turn and Ortiz shook his reins to follow their run through three-quarters in 1:15.75.

The field turned for home with Segesta still at the helm as Cathedral was in search of room down inside and Portfolio Duration made her bid on the outside of Ozara, causing that foe to be pinched between as Segesta dug in gamely at the eighth pole. The closest pursuers spun their wheels, but Kathynmarissa was kicking into gear in the center of the course and gained with each stride under right-handed encouragement from Ortiz.

Segesta marked the mile in 1:39.70 and was in deep water as her stablemate bore down on her outside. Despite a determined final sixteenth under a strong ride from Dylan Davis, Segesta was caught late in the stretch and Kathynmarissa edged past to win by a half-length in a final time of 1:51.42.

Portfolio Duration finished another 2 1/4 lengths back in third with Cathedral completing the superfecta by a nose over Dynamic Pricing. Ozara and Five G rounded out the order of finish.

The win was the first in this event for Ortiz, who said the lack of early pace pressure from the often-prominent Five G had him worried as he sat behind Portfolio Duration in the early going.

“When we hit the first turn, I noticed the pace backed up a lot,” he said. “Five G wasn’t [near the pace], so I knew it was going to be a problem, but I was already committed to my position behind Manny. So, I stuck with it and just hoped for the best. She gave me a great turn-of-foot. Segesta got very good fractions early on and she was able to run on for second, but Kathynmarissa was very good today.”

Davis, who was aboard Segesta for the first time in the afternoon, said he was pleased with his pacesetting trip.

“I thought it was perfect,” Davis said. “I had some intent of being forward and comfortable. She got a little squeezed out of the gate with a little pressure. I got her onto the bridle a little bit early, but I got what I wanted, and she got real comfortable for me. She ran her ‘A’ game. She just came a little short, but she ran a great race.”

Brown added he was not deterred by the early afternoon rainstorm that brought down 0.81 inches of rain onto the Spa.

“We started off the meet a little bit slow, but when there’s some give in the ground and my horses can get their toe in it, they really accelerate no matter where they are positioned,” Brown said, “It’s just the way I train and especially high-quality turf horses, that’s what they really want to do, even on firm courses. So I was very, very pleased when it started raining today and the first two finishers ran very, very well.”

Brown added that Kathynmarissa could next come under consideration for the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2, $300,000 Ballston Spa presented by STIHL on August 22 here.

“Maybe. I’m not sure I want to cut her back to a mile and a sixteenth,” he said. “I’ve got to talk to Michael Dubb. She might actually go farther than this."

Kathynmarissa entered the Diana from a third-place finish to Portfolio Duration in the 1 3/16-mile Grade 1 New York on June 5 here. Previously, she delivered an upset victory over then-stablemate Gezora in the Grade 3 Modesty on May 1 at Churchill Downs, her first start off a more than eight-month layoff dating to a 4 1/4-length optional-claiming win in August here in her first start for Brown. She was previously trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., who conditioned her to a pair of graded seconds that included the Grade 1 American Oaks in December 2024 at Santa Anita Park.

Kathynmarissa, a $200,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the Chilean Group 1-winning Milt’s Overture mare La Dalila. She banked $275,000 in victory while returning $6.58 on a $2 win ticket as the 2-1 mutuel favorite.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card, featuring the Grade 3, $225,000 Quick Call presented by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation in Race 9. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. 

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