Baffert Sends Out Trio to Contest Chillingworth

Bob Baffert holds a strong hand in the $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes (G3) Sept. 25 at Santa Anita Park, with his streaking 4-year-old filly Qahira, who is in search of her fourth consecutive win, rated top billing among a field of six fillies and mares going 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track.

Due to air quality concerns resulting from the Bobcat fire in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Anita's autumn meet, originally scheduled to begin Sept. 19, will instead open Friday, with both the Chillingworth and the Eddie D Stakes (G2T) headlining a 10-race card.

 A winner of four of six starts, Qahira won by three lengths last time out in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance optional claimer Aug. 16 at Del Mar. Owned by Baoma Corporation, the bay daughter of Cairo Prince  will be making her second start of the year and her stakes debut. Although ridden last time by Abel Cedillo, top Eastern rider Luis Saez, who comes to town primarily to ride Maximum Security for Baffert in the Sept. 26 Awesome Again Stakes (G1), will be aboard Qahira for the first time. Dating to her 4 3/4-length first-out maiden romp Nov. 25, 2018, she has dominated her competition by a combined 13 1/2 lengths in her four victories.

Baffert will also be represented by recent restricted stakes winner Message, a 4-year-old filly who will be shortening up out of four consecutive routes. Message earned the first stakes victory of her 10-race career in her previous outing when she finished in a dead heat with Proud Emma in the Aug. 28 Tranquility Lake Stakes at a mile.

Richard Mandella-trained Amuse was most recently a game second in the Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) going 6 1/2 furlongs. The 5-year-old mare by Medaglia d'Oro  has two wins from nine starts and will be making her fifth start of the year. Owned by Claiborne Farm, Ramona and Perry Bass, and Adele Dilschneider, she is 2-for-3 at Santa Anita.

Formerly run as the L.A. Woman Stakes, the Chillingworth honors the memory of longtime Oak Tree Racing Association executive vice president Sherwood Chillingworth, who passed away in October 2019 at the age of 93.

Into Chocolate, Mucho Amor, and Hang a Star complete the field.

Entries: Chillingworth S. (G3)

Santa Anita Park, Friday, September 25, 2020, Race 6

• Grade III
• 6 1/2f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:12 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Message (KY)	Flavien Prat	124	Bob Baffert	7/2
2	2Qahira (KY)	Luis Saez	124	Bob Baffert	2/1
3	3Into Chocolate (KY)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	124	Clifford W. Sise, Jr.	5/1
4	4Mucho Amor (KY)	Juan J. Hernandez	124	Blaine D. Wright	10/1
5	5Hang a Star (KY)	Tyler Baze	122	Ian Kruljac	4/1
98	6Unique Factor (KY)	SCRATCHED	0	UNKNOWN	-
6	7Amuse (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	122	Richard E. Mandella	5/2