OCEANPORT, N.J. – Frankie knows best. After Beaute Cachee and Frankie Dettori upset Keeneland’s Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes on April 13, trainer Chad Brown told track publicity that “she didn’t surprise me that she was able to win; she surprised me that she went wire to wire.” Earlier this week, Brown told Daily Racing Form that he was unsure whether Beaute Cachee would be the pacesetter in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Matchmaker Stakes for fillies and mares racing 1 1/8 miles on firm Monmouth turf. “She doesn’t really need the lead,” Brown said while also stating his confidence that Beaute Cachee could be just as effective from off the pace. “I think Delahaye is a faster horse. I don’t think she saw a horse like Delahaye in the Jenny Wiley. That’s why she was [up front].  I think if [jockey Flavien Prat] gives [Delahaye] her head, she’s going to be very forward.” Dettori read and rode the race differently. He broke well with Beaute Cachee, guided her to the top, and dropped the anchor to set glacial fractions of 25.16, 50.66 and 1:15.38 while lightly prompted by Sacred Wish. Favored Delahaye settled into a comfortable pocket position behind the leaders while shadowed from her outside by a tracking Surprisingly. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. The slow pace doomed them and the other closers as Beaute Cachee and Sacred Wish sprinted for home. They put on an exciting stretch show with Beaute Cachee prevailing on the inside by a neck in 1:49.63 to give Brown his fifth consecutive Matchmaker victory and eighth overall. Sacred Wish finished three-quarters of a length better than Delahaye with Surprisingly fourth. Then came Maman Joon, slow-starting Papilio and Olivia Maralda. After Dettori’s patented flying dismount thrilled the Monmouth fans, Beaute Cachee (96 Beyer Speed Figure) returned $11.20 as the third choice in the betting. “Chad said you don’t have to lead, but jump with that intention,” Dettori said. “She likes a target, too. He left it entirely up to me. I thought [Sacred Wish would show some speed]. She jumped and intended to make the pace until the elbow, and then [jockey Luis Saez] took back. I thought I’d take it from there.” After Beaute Cachee’s victory at Keeneland, she didn’t make the early running in Saratoga’s Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes when piloted by Manny Franco. Beaute Cachee settled for a pace-tracking, ground-saving trip, then faltered to finish last of seven. “It was probably too much for her,” Brown said earlier in the week about Beaute Cachee’s Just a Game. “It just didn’t really work out for her trip-wise.” A 5-year-old gray mare by Literato, Beaute Cachee was bred in France by Gregor Vischer, and won only one race from 12 starts there before being privately purchased by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, Louis Lazzinnaro and Michael Caruso. Brown took over her training in early 2023, and Beaute Cachee won two of her first three races in North America, including Monmouth’s Violet Stakes on Sept. 2. She hit the board in her final two starts last year when second in the Athenia at Belmont at the Big A and third in the Grade 1 Matriarch. Beaute Cachee now boasts 5 wins from 20 starts for career earnings of $726,962. *Wolf Hill Stakes Nothing Better was the pick of the paddock, and he ran to his looks when rallying from just off the pace to take the $100,000 Wolf Hill Stakes for 3-year-olds and upward at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf. Ridden by Jorge Ruiz, Nothing Better settled into a perfect pace-tracking position as speedy That’s Right blitzed to the front while pushed by Extendo. Those two sped through an opening quarter of 21.69 seconds before That’s Right, making his first start after being claimed by Brittany Russell, spurted clear turning into the stretch. That’s Right began to shorten stride slightly inside the sixteenth pole, and Nothing Better got him in the final 100 yards to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:01.97. That’s Right held second by a head over odds-on Arzak. Extendo, Eamonn, Let My People Go, Outlaw Country and Golden Brown completed the order of finish. Alogon, Barristan the Bold and main track only entrant Spun and Won all scratched. Nothing Better paid $9.40 as the second choice on the tote board. “They go into that turn so fast, some of them kind of slide out of it,” trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. said about Nothing Better seeming to idle a bit on the bend. “Jorge [Ruiz] did a very good job. He gave him a little breather, and kicked on and showed he was the best horse today. I’m kind of excited about him.” Nothing Better began his 2024 campaign in somewhat disastrous fashion, completely missing the break and finishing seventh of nine as the betting favorite in the Elusive Quality Stakes at Belmont at Aqueduct on May 4. Duarte equipped Nothing Better with a shield in the starting gate to help the horse focus, and Nothing Better has since reverted to form. He prepped for the Wolf Hill with a pacepressing score in Churchill’s Mighty Beau on June 8. “I appreciate the starter in New York,” added Duarte. “He mentioned the shield [after the Elusive Quality]. It worked out. It seemed like he broke sharp.” After the Mighty Beau, Duarte mentioned that Nothing Better missed a week of training due to “shipping fever.” “These turf sprinters, it usually doesn’t take as much as other horses to get ready,” Duarte said about getting Nothing Better back from that illness. “He showed me signs that he was ready for this. It’s an easy trip for us [from Colts Neck Stables], 10 minutes. He’s a good horse and he showed it today.” Multiple Grade 2 winner Arzak stalked the pace from in between horses, angled to the far outside into the stretch, then gradually grinded his way into the show spot. A 7-year-old gelding by Munnings out of One True Love, Nothing Better was bred by Don Alberto Corportation. After selling for $47,000 as a yearling, Nothing Better was purchased by Colts Neck for $230,000 as a 2-year-old. He has won 11 of 28 starts for lifetime earnings of $761,382. The Wolf Hill was his fifth stakes victory. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.