Fair Maiden Upsets La Brea
Image:
Description:
Photo: Benoit Photo
Fair Maiden wins the La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Godolphin homebred Fair Maiden may have been a 20-1 outsider in the $302,500 La Brea Stakes (G1) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park, but was full of run as she rallied down the stretch to win the seven-furlong event for 3-year-old fillies by 2 1/4 lengths.
Securing her first graded victory, Fair Maiden defeated the Bob Baffert-trained pair of Golden Principal and Merneith, as well as Steve Asmussen trainee and multiple graded stakes winner Finite.
Fair Maiden collected a stakes win on turf at 2—the Catch a Glimpse Stakes at Woodbine—but trainer Eoin Harty switched her to dirt this season. She won a Sept. 19 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs, then ran fourth in the Nov. 7 Qatar Fort Springs Stakes at Keeneland, won by Merneith.
"I didn't want to keep taking her up to Woodbine so I found a spot in Churchill and that was a big question mark as to whether she would handle it there, and she did," Harty said. "She was super professional that day and gave me a lot of confidence in bringing her out here for this."
Ricardo Gonzalez rode Fair Maiden for the first time in the La Brea and the Street Boss filly completed the distance on a fast main track in 1:22.69. It was the rider's first top-level win.
"I was just so happy and excited, to just ride these kinds of horses, it feels great," Gonzalez said. "I'm very thankful to Eoin and all the trainers for all the opportunities."
"I've been watching Ricky ride since he came down here, and I think he's the next superstar," Harty said. "He's brave and he puts his horse in a spot to win. I grab him every time I can because I think he's a world-class rider."
Fair Maiden was seventh of 10 through the first quarter-mile and advanced to sixth as Biddy Duke set fractions of :21.88 and :44.59 through a half-mile. Fair Maiden raced three to four wide around the turn, was second as Golden Principal took over to run six furlongs in 1:09.92, then collared her rivals to pull clear down the stretch.
"Eoin said she was doing really really well, to just put her in the race," Gonzalez said. "There were quite a few speed (horses). 'Just put her in the race, get her clear, and get her to the outside.' We hit the stretch and as soon as we hit the stretch she went on the outside and was just full of run."
Golden Principal was runner-up at odds of 12-1 over Merneith. Finite, the 2-1 favorite, rallied from last to finish fourth.
Fair Maiden was bred in Kentucky out of the Smart Strike mare Shieldmaiden and her third dam is Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Secret Status. Shieldmaiden was purchased for $30,000 by Michael dePaulo from Godolphin's consignment to the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. The mare now has yearling and weanling colts by Passion for Action and was reported bred back to the Colebrook Farms Stallion Station stud.
From eight career starts, Fair Maiden has earned a 4-1-1 record and $321,278.