Santa Barbara Fights On to Take Belmont Oaks
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
Santa Barbara wins the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes at Belmont Park
Santa Barbara has inspired faith on the part of her trainer, Aidan O'Brien, since her first trip to the track. But as the going got tough in the $700,000 Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1T) July 10, jockey Ryan Moore admitted his confidence might have been flickering, if just for an instant.
In the end, faith was restored all around as the Camelot filly overcame the traffic problems to post a convincing, albeit a bit narrow, win over some quality American rivals.
Santa Barbara broke cleanly, raced in the middle of the field down the long Belmont Park backstretch, and around the sweeping stretch turn. As the field straightened for home, Moore clearly had plenty of horse with the only question, where to go.
Nearing the sixteenth pole, Moore took the filly quickly out a few paths, pointed her to a seam, and asked for run. She hit another gear and rolled by longtime leader Con Lima to win by a half-length over that rival.
Higher Truth was third with Gam's Mission fourth and Plum Ali fifth as Santa Barbara finished the 1 1/4 miles on turf rated good in 2:03.76. The other international entries, Nazuna and Cirona , finished sixth and seventh, respectively, defeating only Spanish Loveaffair .
The winner was bred in Ireland under the banner of O'Brien and his wife Anne Marie's Whisperview Trading. She is the last reported foal out of the Danehill mare Senta's Dream, making her a half sister to two Breeders' Cup winners—Iridessa , who captured the 2019 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T), and Order of Australia , winner of the 2020 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T).
Moore admitted to a moment of concern as he turned into the stretch fairly well boxed in behind the leaders.
Asked if he was always confident through the race, he replied, "I'd say overconfident."
But, maybe, not really.
"I just had to sit on her and find a little bit of room at some stage," he explained. "We went quite steady and there were a few in front of me. I didn't want to be exposed on the turn and I was hoping a couple would drop away early. But we had to switch around. She's got plenty of class and she quickened.
"Look, she's a level above them, really. She won very comfortably," he added.
Santa Barbara heads to the winner's circle at Belmont Park
M.V. Magnier, representing the winning Coolmore partners' ownership group, said Moore "gave her a great ride and Aidan always thought she was a very good filly so it was great to see her do it today."
In fact, the victory went a ways toward rewarding the faith O'Brien has placed in Santa Barbara since she won her only start of 2020. He immediately put her on the highest rung of his estimation, only to see her return with a fourth-place finish in the QIPCO One Thousand Guineas (G1) and a fifth in the Cazoo Oaks (G1) in her first two starts of 2021.
She rebounded from those to finish second, beaten just a neck, on her return in the Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly Stakes (G1) at the Curragh in Ireland June 27 before targeting the Belmont race.
With the Belmont triumph in the books, Magnier said a return trip across the Atlantic is not out of the question, especially with the rich purses offered for the New York Racing Association's 3-year-old turf series.
"They've made a very good thing with this turf series and the (Belmont) Derby (G1T) and the Oaks," Magnier said. "It's worth a lot of money and the prize money is fantastic. To be honest, they've been so accommodating and look after us so well…"
Asked specifically if the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G3T) on Aug. 8 might be on the table, he quickly replied, "Why not?"
The Saratoga race, like the Belmont Oaks, offers a $700,000 purse—doubly attractive to racing connections in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other countries in Europe, where the COVID-19 pandemic has forced severe cutbacks in prize money.