Warren's Veneda Strikes Again in 'Margarita'
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Warren's Veneda continued her dominating run at Santa Anita Park March 14 with a commanding 7 1/4-length victory in the $400,000 Santa Margarita Stakes (gr. I) .
A homebred of Benjamin Warren, the Affirmative mare overtook the field at the top of the stretch with jockey Tyler Baze and pulled away impressively to win the 1 1/8-mile test on a fast dirt track in 1:48.73, well ahead of second-place finisher Dame Dorothy. It is the third straight stakes victory and first grade I score for the 5-year-old trained by Craig Lewis.
It was also the first grade I win for Warren, who bred the winner in California out of Flying Continental mare More Cal Bread.
"Out of our 800 horses, that's the best win," Warren said after the race. "The biggest."
In sixth place early, the 3-2 favorite settled behind early leaders Cassatt and Uzziel, who dueled for the lead and set opening fractions of :23.15 for the first quarter-mile and :46.64 for the half-mile.
Warren's Veneda gained ground on the final the turn and then exploded late to win. Baze even took a peek back at the sixteenth pole to see just how far off the rest of the field was.
"I've got some good moments, but this was definitely a good one," Lewis said. "I was pretty confident that she was going to win, but I didn't think she would be that dominating, because (Dame Dorothy and Cassatt) looked awful good on paper."
The rally was reminiscent of her previous two victories in the Paseana Stakes Jan. 11 and the Santa Maria Stakes (gr. II) Feb. 14. The turnaround for Warren's Veneda was abrupt. As a 4-year-old in 2014, she went 0-for-8, but showed promise with a second-place finish in the Bayakoa Stakes (gr. II) at Los Alamitos Race Course Dec. 6 before starting her winning streak.
"She is so impressive," said Baze, who rode Warren's Veneda in all three wins. "The last three times I've ridden her, she just does things so easy. I haven't got to the bottom of her yet. There's so much horse under me and she just goes what she needs to do to win. "
Warren's Veneda paid $5, $2.60, and $2.20 across the board. Dame Dorothy returned $3.20 and $2.60. Third-place finisher Thegirlinthatsong delivered $2.80 to show.
Uzziel hung on to finish fourth, while Legacy, and Cassatt followed to complete the order of finish.
Warren's Veneda improved to 8-3-5 from 22 career starts and increased her earnings to $827,612 with the $240,000 win haul.
Lewis indicated after the Santa Margarita that he is considering the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic (gr. II) April 18 for the winning mare's next start. The race for 4-year-olds and older, including males, also is run at the 1 1/8-mile distance and would be her first start outside of California.
"We're going to have to take on some pretty tough boys, but she could be up to the task," Lewis said.