'Tolerance' Has Zero Room for Error in Las Cienegas

A stakes winner over the course, Zero Tolerance  heads a field of eight older fillies and mares sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs down Santa Anita Park's hillside turf Jan. 9 in the $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes (G3T).

Hear My Prayer  and Ginja , a pair of distaffers in good recent form, also rate strong chances in what will be their initial tries down Santa Anita's unique hillside layout. Throw in classy comebacker Beautiful Gift , Gold for Kitten , as well as his veteran stakes winner Constantia , and the Las Cienegas seems a wide-open affair. 

A Kentucky-bred 4-year-old filly by Mizzen Mast , Zero Tolerance stalked the pace and rallied impressively to take the ungraded Unzip Me Stakes over the course three starts back Oct. 3 and was subsequently a close fourth going one mile on turf in the Oct. 30 Autumn Miss Stakes (G3T).

Ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli, she sped to a 1 1/4-length win at 3-5 odds in a second-condition allowance optional claimer Nov. 20 at Del Mar.

Previously trained by Peter Miller, she'll be saddled by new trainer Ruben Alvarado Sunday as she seeks her first graded win and her fourth overall from six starts. Owned by Custom Truck Accessories, Jason Hall, Joe Kelly, and Michael Riordan, Zero Tolerance will be reunited with Flavien Prat, who was aboard for the Unzip Me win, as well as a maiden score four starts back Aug. 20.

Out of the El Prado  mare Torreadoro, Zero Tolerance is a half sister to 2019 Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes(G1T) winner El Tormenta .

Hear My Prayer, trained by Vladamir Cerin and owned by Holly and David Wilson, has been idle since rallying for a solid third-place finish, beaten three-quarters of a length in the five-furlong turf Senator Ken Maddy Stakes Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

"She was much the best last time when she ran third," Cerin said in reference to a troubled trip.

Hear My Prayer, trained by David Fisher on the East Coast in her first nine races before Cerin took over, has a 5-0-3 record from 11 starts with earnings of $218,975.

Originally based at Gulfstream Park, Hear My Prayer made her first start for Cerin two starts back in a five-furlong turf allowance optional claiming race Aug. 26 in which she pressed the pace and prevailed by a half-length.

The two-time stakes-winning daughter of The Big Beast   will have Juan Hernandez in the saddle.

Idle since seventh in the May 14 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) at Pimlico Race Course is Baoma Corp.'s homebred Beautiful Gift, trained by Bob Baffert. Earlier, she was a close second in the April 3 Santa Anita Oaks (G2) and a game head winner of the Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) three starts back March 7. The Medaglia d'Oro   filly is unraced on turf but is related to a couple of grass winners.

Baffert also starts Jill Baffert's Ginja, another untested on turf, with Mike Smith named to ride.

Unraced since a close third in the Oct. 31 Ontario Damsel Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on synthetic at Woodbine, Gold for Kitten makes her first start for owners Hronis Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds after she was acquired for $350,000 from the St George Sales consignment at the 2021 November Breeding Stock Sale at Keeneland.

John Sadler trains her, as he does Constantia for owner/breeder Keith Abrahams. The latter drops in class after a sixth in the Nov. 6.Goldikova Stakes Presented by PNC (G2T) at Del Mar Her dam, Llandudno, was second in the 2014 Las Cienegas.

Entries: Las Cienegas S. (G3T)

Santa Anita Park, Sunday, January 09, 2022, Race 7

• Grade III
• About 6 1/2f
• Downhill turf
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:35 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Tapwater (KY)	Joe Bravo	120	Richard E. Mandella	5/1
2	2Hear My Prayer (FL)	Juan J. Hernandez	120	Vladimir Cerin	2/1
3	3Constantia (KY)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	122	John W. Sadler	5/1
4	4Quiet Secretary (KY)	Tyler Baze	120	Ian Kruljac	15/1
5	5Beautiful Gift (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	122	Bob Baffert	8/1
6	6Ginja (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	Bob Baffert	12/1
7	7Zero Tolerance (KY)	Flavien Prat	122	Ruben D. Alvarado	5/2
8	8Gold for Kitten (KY)	John R. Velazquez	120	John W. Sadler	8/1