When Jon Clay of Alpha Delta Stables and trainer Chad Brown made the decision to keep Raging Sea in training for another year they had one thing in mind: a grade 1 victory. The daughter of Curlin didn't land a top-level win April 19 but did capture a key steppingstone when she romped by 3 1/4 lengths in the $300,000 Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) at Keeneland.
After a runner-up finish in the 2022 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), the promising Raging Sea broke through with her first graded score late last year with a hard-fought triumph in the Nov. 25 Comely Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack. Given a freshening over the winter as her connections mulled a possible retirement, the filly eventually re-joined Brown's stable at the beginning of the season with grade 1 glory as the goal.
The 1 1/16-mile Doubledogdare drew a small but talented group of older fillies and mares, including the highly regarded Scylla and Loved. Although Raging Sea's morning work tab didn't exactly inspire confidence, Brown knew the chestnut was more than ready by race time.
"She can be a little bit of a lazy work horse in the morning but she really is an afternoon horse," Brown said. "I put the saddle on her today and she put her ears up and was on her toes. She was marching around here with a lot of confidence. She's an afternoon gamer."
Brown admitted Raging Sea was racing much closer to the early pace than he expected in her 4-year-old debut Friday, positioned only a few lengths off a moderate early tempo of :24.11 and :48.62. Breaking from the one hole, jockey Flavien Prat tracked just behind the leaders before angling out three wide around the final bend.
"On paper, I thought there was a big pace set up for her but then it never developed," Brown said. "Flavien (Prat) used good judgment to get her into a good position. The inside post also certainly helped her. Coming off the layoff she was able to save ground around both turns."
With favored Scylla trying to force her way through traffic and front-running Loved beginning to fade as Hidden Connection seized the advantage turning for home, Raging Sea pounced on her rivals and proceeded to draw off in the easiest of manners.
The 5-2 second choice, Raging Sea ($7.58) stopped the timer in 1:44.24 on a fast main track.
Hidden Connection, who pressed Loved for the lead throughout, held second, 1 1/2 lengths clear of Scylla in third.
Although the next target for Raging Sea was yet to be selected, Brown said the filly would likely resurface in a grade 1.
A homebred for Alpha Delta Stables, Raging Sea recorded her fourth win from eight career starts and bumped her bankroll to $645,978.
She is one of five winners produced from the unraced Storm Cat mare Stormy Welcome, who hails from the blacktype-rich family of classic winners A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.
