Queen Bee to You Edges Der Lu in La Canada Dogfight
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Queen Bee to You (inside) edges Der Lu in the La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Queen Bee to You provided young trainer Andrew Lerner with his first graded win when she captured the Bayakoa Stakes (G3) at Los Alamitos Race Course last month.
She isn't stopping there. She took her show to Santa Anita Park Jan. 11 and again delivered for Lerner and owners Christopher St. Hilaire and Adam Vali, doggedly winning a fight with Der Lu by a nose in the $200,500 La Canada Stakes (G3).
Though her connections hoped to have her relax off the pace, it was clear entering the backstretch of the 1 1/16-mile La Canada that Queen Bee to You had other ideas. Fourth—1 1/2 lengths behind—after an opening quarter in :24, she tugged at jockey Ruben Fuentes to go after leader Der Lu, and when the latter drifted off the inside, Fuentes gave Queen Bee to You rein to engage her.
She came alongside with a half-mile in :48.06, and the two raced head and head through remaining fractions of 1:12.35 and 1:37.75 before hitting the finish in 1:44.36 on a fast track. Queen Bee to You, the second favorite, returned $6.60 for a $2 win ticket.
"I thought my horse was getting rank, but the pace was a little slow and that's why she was pulling," Fuentes said. "Once she made the lead, she relaxed real nice. My plan was to angle outside and put the pressure on the other filly, but we ended up inside and she fought back."
Der Lu, rising in class after a first-level allowance win, picked up her first stakes placing, finishing two lengths in front of Bayakoa runner-up Zusha in third.
Kaydetre, Horologist, and Message rounded out the finish in a six-horse race for older fillies and mares that was depleted by the scratches of longshot Starr of Quality and morning-line favorite Spiced Perfection.
With the withdrawal of Spiced Perfection, a grade 1 winner, Queen Bee to You and Horologist were the only fillies in the race with graded victories.
It was the third consecutive win for Queen Bee to You and the fourth in seven starts since Lerner took over her training from Mike Pender in June 2019. Before the Bayakoa, she won the Betty Grable Stakes at Del Mar.
"She's just one of those gritty mares that wants to win. She's just all heart, and you gotta love horses like that," said Lerner, who began training in April 2017.
A 6-year-old Old Topper mare bred in California by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, Queen Bee to You is the sixth foal out of the Touch Gold mare Silk Queen and the first to earn black type. She made her first four starts for her breeder before being claimed by St. Hilaire for $50,000 as a maiden in December 2016.
Vali joined in ownership in July 2018.
This year, St. Hilaire decided to race his horses, including Queen Bee to You, under the stable name An Equal Amount of Blueberries, a famous line from the movie "Casino."
Queen Bee to You collected the house's chips Saturday, earning $120,000 to increase her earnings to $658,770. She has an 8-11-5 record from 33 starts.
St. Hilaire praised Fuentes for his ride.
"He's a talent. To pass like he did after being passed, it is not an easy task," he said.