Whitebeam leads all the way for repeat win in Grade 1 Diana

Whitebeam,
who stalked the early lead en route to victory last year, set the pace this
time and took the field from gate to wire to repeat in the Grade 1, $500,000 Diana Stakes for older fillies and mares Saturday at Saratoga.

Trainer
Chad Brown, who had five of the 10 starters, won the 1 1/8-mile, inner-turf
race for the third year in a row and a record ninth time overall. Flavien Prat
rode the 5-year-old Caravaggio mare to a sixth victory in 14 starts.

Click here for Saratoga entries and results.

Bred
and owned by Juddmonte, Whitebeam (9-2) broke alertly from post 6 and took a
ground-saving trip along the rail through early fractions of 24.26, 49.49,
1:13.76 and 1:36.70.

As the
field fanned into the homestretch, 2022 Canada champion Moira (6-1) charged
down the middle of the course but never found herself on even terms with
Whitebeam, who won by about 1 1/4 lengths with a time of 1:48.14 on the firm
course.

Moira took
second, Gina Romantica (15-1) from Brown’s quintet finished third and post-time
favorite Didia (2-1) was fourth.

Whitebeam
paid $11.60, $6.70 and $5.10; Moira $7.10 and $5.70; and Gina Romantica $8.00.

This story will be updated by Matt Shifman’s report from Saratoga.