Chili Flag Tops Chad Brown-Trained Trifecta In Churchill Distaff Turf Mile

Trainer Chad Brown's dominance of the North American turf ranks continued Saturday in the Grade 2 $665,000 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes, saddling the top three finishers, led by Chili Flag.

The 5-year-old French-bred daughter of Cityscape was unhurried out of the gate by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., and placed near the back of the field, while West Coast shipper Ag Bullet rushed out to the lead, tracked closely by Not So Close and Walkathon. 

Ag Bullet gained some cushion going through the first turn, setting an opening quarter-mile time of :23.40 seconds. Walkathon moved up to challenge the leader on her outside shoulder at the race's halfway point, run in :47.20 seconds, while Chili Flag remained far back under a patient hold.

Walkathon drew even with Ag Bullet in the turn, and after battling through the bend, she emerged on the other side of the quarter pole with the lead. Meanwhile Ortiz swung Chili Flag out four-wide at the back of the pack, in preparation to loop the field. Walkathon had disposed of Ag Bullet by the three-sixteenths, and Chili Flag appeared to still have a lot of work to do as the wire approached.

Under right-handed urging, Chili Flag made up lots of ground in the next sixteenth of a mile, but she was still two lengths shy of Walkathon with an eighth of a mile to go. Joining Chili Flag on that charge was fellow Chad Brown trainees Coppice and Delahaye, and the trio wore down the leader in the final furlong. 

Chili Flag had the most momentum on the outside, and she locked in to battle post time favorite Coppice down to the wire, winning by a neck. Delahaye carried on for third, 1 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up.

Chili Flag stopped the clock in 1:35.95 for the one-mile race over a turf course labeled as good. She paid $10.06 to win.

Saturday's race was Brown's fourth consecutive victory in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile, following Fluffy Socks (2023), Speak of the Devil (2022), and Blowout (2021). It was Brown's fifth overall Churchill Distaff win, starting with Roca Rojo in 2017. Saturday's race broke a tie with Bill Mott as the Churchill Distaff's winningest trainer.

It was also the second consecutive Churchill Distaff victory for Ortiz, after booting home Fluffy Socks last year, and his third overall win, also including 2019 winner Beau Recall. The Churchill Distaff was the fourth victory on the day for Ortiz, with the biggest races of the Kentucky Derby day card still to come.

Chili Flag races for owners Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and Michael Kisber. Sol Kumin of Madaket Stables has campaigned two other Brown-trained Churchill Distaff winners through other noms-de-course: Fluffy Socks in 2023 and Roca Rojo in 2017.

Saturday's victory improved Chili Flag's record to six wins in 18 career starts for earnings of $728,377. It was her second career graded stakes victory, after taking the G3 Honey Fox Stakes on March 2 at Gulfstream Park in her previous start.

Bred in France by Finanza Locale Consulting SRL, Chili Flag is out of the unraced Pivotal mare Flag Day. She began her career racing in France, where she became an allowance winner before selling to her stateside connections for $137,217 at the Arqana Saint Cloud sale.

View the Equibase chart here.