Kentucky-bred Kathynmarissa won the $500,000 Diana Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, giving trainer Chad Brown his 11th win in the race. Kathynmarissa defeated a pair of stablemates—Segesta and Portfolio Durations (GB) in this year’s renewal, giving Brown a sweep of the top three placings.

“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. “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. Jockey Jose Ortiz settled the daughter of American Pharoah in next-to-last through the early stages. 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.

Kathynmarissa tops a Brown trifecta in the Diana

The field turned for home with Segesta still at the helm as Cathedral was in search of room down inside. The closest pursuers spun their wheels, but Kathynmarissa was kicking into gear in the center of the course. 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.

Brown indicated that Kathynmarissa could next come under consideration for the 1 1/16-mile $300,000 Ballston Spa (G2) on Aug. 22.

“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, a $200,000 purchase at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is out of the Chilean Group 1-winning mare La Dalila. Bred by Don Alberto Corporation, she now owns a record of 14-6-2-3 with earnings of more than $1.9 million.