McCarthy and Milwaukee Brew grind out narrow victory over previously unbeaten Brave Quest

Ohio Derby (G2)
Thistledown, July 15, $300,000, 11/8 miles, fast, 1:50.58
1- MILWAUKEE BREW , c. 3, Wild Again-Ask Anita, by Wolf Power (SAf).
2-Brave Quest, c. 3, Miswaki-Cousin Margaret, by Topsider.
3-Kiss a Native, g. 3, Kissin Kris-Ronique, by Raise a Native.

Stronach bought Milwaukee Brew at the 1998 Keeneland September sale. On July 15, nearly two years after the auctioneer's hammer fell, Milwaukee Brew won the $300,000 Ohio Derby (G2) at Thistledown, the northern Ohio track Stronach-led Magna Entertainment Corp. bought last year, in front of a crowd of 13,657. Rallying from the back of the pack, Milwaukee Brew stormed into contention while six-wide at the top of the stretch, engaged the 2.30-to-1 favorite, Brave Quest, an eighth of a mile from the wire, then outgamed him to prevail by a head. It was 2 1/4 lengths farther back to third-place Kiss a Native, who held a nose over Cielo Stellato (Fr). Miami Blase finished fifth, followed by Perfect Cat, prerace favorite Snuck In, Eagle Time, Lake Austin, and Eli Lilliput.

Michael McCarthy, who won last year's Ohio Derby aboard Stellar Brush, rode Milwaukee Brew and got similar results - also in a photo finish, but by a neck instead of a head. Milwaukee Brew was timed over 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.58.

A Kentucky-bred son of Wild Again out of the Wolf Power (SAf) mare Ask Anita, Milwaukee Brew earned $180,000. That recoups much of the $230,000 Stronach paid for the colt.

McCarthy said Milwaukee Brew had early trouble adjusting to the track. "He was spinning his wheels early in the race," McCarthy said. "The track was tight earlier in the day, but the strong winds made the surface very dry, and he struggled to get over it.''

Jorge Chavez, who rode the previously unbeaten Brave Quest in the colt's first ever stakes race, echoed McCarthy. "My horse didn't like the track," Chavez said. "He was unable to get hold of it all the way around.'' Milwaukee Brew injured himself last month and nearly missed the Derby. "He kicked himself in his stall,'' said trainer Tino Attard. "His leg blew up and it cost him a start.''

The Ohio Derby was Milwaukee Brew's first race since May 21 when he won the Marine Stakes at Woodbine. Unraced at two, he has won four of six career outings and earned $313,350.

Lake Austin was first away in the Derby, with an escort from Eli Lilliput and Kiss a Native. Brave Quest bided his time in fourth place while Milwaukee Brew led only Cielo Stellato into the first turn in the field of ten three-year-olds. "We expected to be somewhat closer to the pace,'' said McCarthy. "I had to urge him a little bit to get him kind of going, but once he got in gear, he made a beautiful run.''

Almost as good as the one McCarthy made. McCarthy's plane from Baltimore to Cleveland was canceled the night before the Derby, so he drove to Thistledown, leaving at 4:30 a.m. and getting to the track shortly before noon.

"What a nightmare it was,'' said McCarthy, a regular at Delaware Park. "I got about three hours sleep before I left. My credit card wouldn't work at the gas station, and then I drove off and left my gas cap behind. I was ten miles down the road, but I turned around and got it."

At the top of the stretch in the Derby, front-running Eli Lilliput was the first to fade. Lake Austin, supplemented to the Derby for $10,000, briefly took over, then Kiss a Native held the lead for a stride or two. However, three-sixteenths of a mile from the line, Chavez got Brave Quest to the front.

The Derby favorite, a $95,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling purchase who was resold at the Fasig-Tipton Florida March sale of two-year-olds in training for $950,000 and purchased by owner John Oxley, was unbeaten in four starts going into the race. However, he barely had time to take a deep breath before Milwaukee Brew was on his tail.

Milwaukee Brew "showed his class and determination and courage, fighting as well as he did,'' said McCarthy. "The other horse was in front all the way down the stretch, right to the finish.''

The Derby was cleanly run. The only horse who had trouble was Perfect Cat, who hit the rail on the first turn and nearly unseated jockey John Velazquez. Velazquez lost one of his irons but got it back.