'It means a lot to me' - Chad Brown extends Diana domination as former British-trained Whitebeam gains back-to-back victories

Trainer Chad Brown continued his impressive domination of the Diana Stakes after Whitebeam made it back-to-back successes in the Grade 1 contest at Saratoga. 

The Juddmonte mare, who was formerly trained in Britain by Harry and Roger Charlton, landed Saturday's $500,000 race by three-quarters of a length to account for Brown's ninth victory in the 1m1f contest for fillies and mares and eighth in the last nine years.

Brown's very first Grade 1 win came when Zagora prevailed in the 2011 edition of the Diana, and Whitebeam joined a select list of dual winners, including the Brown-trained Sistercharlie in 2018 and 2019. 

"It's remarkable the horses and the clients I've had through the years. It's nine Dianas and there are several team members that were there for the first Diana and they've been here with all of them. That's the consistency of the programme, really. [Bobby] Frankel taught me well and he was always pointing towards this race," said Brown, a former assistant to the late Hall of Famer Frankel.

"It means a lot to me. It means a lot to my team. There's a very short list of races when I left Frankel that it was just instilled in me that he held in high regard and pointed towards. The Diana was way up on that list. 

"For him to hold it in high regard, it really must have meant something. So, I thought if I ever had good enough horses, this is a race I really need to focus on because he's not wrong much. I'm very fortunate to have horses good enough to run in this race."

Whitebeam: former Harry and Roger Charlton inmate went back-to-back in the Diana Stakes for Chad BrownCredit: John Grossick

Whitebeam was winless in four starts since taking the 2023 Diana but was coming off a strong second in the Just A Game Stakes, when she finished half a length behind Brown stablemate and Diana starter Chili Flag, who finished down the field in ninth. 

The Diana was Whitebeam's third start of the year and the third time was surely the charm as the five-year-old grabbed the lead and, if the early fractions were modest, she began motoring after six furlongs under Flavien Prat. 

As 2-1 favourite Didia tried to collar her, the daughter of Caravaggio fended off the bid. While Didia dropped back to fourth, the other challengers cut into the lead but could not reel in Whitebeam, who became the eighth back-to-back Diana winner.

"There was a lack of pace on paper and the plan was to go out there and just try to control the race and see if she was good enough to hold on," said Brown.

Moira, the Kevin Attard-trained 2022 Queen's Plate Stakes winner, grabbed second by a nose over Gina Romantica, one of Brown's five starters in the race. He also sent out Coppice, who was fifth, Fluffy Socks (eighth) and Chili Flag.

The win was the sixth in 14 starts for Whitebeam, who was runner-up twice at Listed level for the Charltons before moving to the United States last year. 

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