Three Chimneys Farm’s Rainha Da Bateria will enter the $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (gr. III) as the only 3-year-old filly in the field of nine with a graded stakes victory, but will lose Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith for the 1 1/16-mile test Feb. 28 at Santa Anita Park.
Smith instead finds himself on second-time starter Curlin’s Fox, whom he rode in her debut victory Feb. 1 in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight event. Bred in Kentucky by owner Warren Williamson, the daughter of Curlin out of Foxhound mare Foxysox went off at 3-5 in her debut and closed from ninth to win by three-quarters of a length.
Trained by Carla Gaines, Curlin’s Fox will get Smith and break from post 2, but Rainha Da Bateria brings the most stakes experience, including a win in the JP Morgan Chase Jessamine Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Keeneland Oct. 8 and a neck second-place finish in the Jimmy Durante Stakes (gr IIIT) at Del Mar Nov. 29. Newcomer Tiago Pereira will be in the irons for the first time on the Graham Motion-trained daughter of Broken Vow , who will be making her first dirt attempt in six lifetime starts.
Rainha Da Bateria will carry the highweight of 121 pounds, while the rest of the field will carry 119 for the race worth 10 Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) points to the winner.
A trio of fillies from the barn of leading trainer Jerry Hollendorfer (21 wins at Santa Anita since Dec. 26) also figure to be factors in the Santa Ysabel.
Headlining the group is Cheyenne Stables’ Light the City, who just missed with a half-length second in the Las Virgenes Stakes (gr. I) Jan. 31 at Santa Anita. The Street Sense filly out of the A.P. Indy mare Light From Above will break from post 6 with jockey Kent Desormeaux returning after the near miss together in the Las Virgenes. Barn-mate Achiever’s Legacy, who closed to finish third in the Las Virgenes with jockey Drayden Van Dyke, will break from post 4 with Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens for the first time.
Van Dyke will join the final Hollendorfer entry, speedy maiden special weight winner Glory, who led until the final moments of the California Oaks at Golden Gate Fields Feb. 7, finishing a neck back in second. The Tapit filly owned by Fox Hill Farms should factor into the pace scenario along with another Tapit progeny,Rattataptap, Hronis Racing’s Stellar Wind, and Kaleem Shah’s Enchanting Lady.
By Tale of the Cat , Enchanting Lady is trained by Bob Baffert and was last seen racing in a 6 1/4-length victory in the 5 1/2-furlong Landaluce Stakes at Santa Anita in June. Bred in Kentucky by the Randal Family Trust out of A.P. Indy mare A.P. Baby, the filly boasts two recent bullet workouts at six furlongs (1:11 1/5 and 1:12 1/5) prepping for her comeback.
Another filly with back class who could be a factor late is Danette, another daughter of Curlin, who will break from the rail with jockey Fernando Perez. Owned by Don’t Tell My Wife Stables, Danette is still looking to break her maiden after eight career starts, but was in play late with a closing fifth-place finish—1 1/2 lenghs back—in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) Nov. 1 and also closed to finish third in the Chandelier Stakes (gr. I) Sept. 27.
Courtesy of the Bloodhorse
