Adare Manor Dominates in Las Virgenes

Michael Lund Petersen's Adare Manor , fresh off a 12-length maiden special weight tour de force, turned in another breathtaking performance in the Feb. 6 $196,000 Las Virgenes Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park.

The 3-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo   was bet down as the overwhelming 2-5 favorite in a field reduced to only four after the scratch of Adare Manor's grade-1 winning, Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Eda .

Adare Manor charged out of the gates but was outsprinted for the early command by Gracelund Gray , who had a half-length advantage on the Baffert trainee after an opening quarter-mile in :22.72. Past the half-mile in :46.66, jockey John Velazquez dropped his hands on Adare Manor and the big filly reached out with long, powerful strides, opening up four lengths on the field around the turn for home. Into the lane, Adare Manor glided to the wire without a challenger in sight, crossing the wire a 13-length winner.

"Bob told me when (Adare Manor) broke her maiden that this is what she wanted to do, go the two turns," said Velazquez after the race. "Once we got to the half-mile pole I put my hands down on her and she just kept going just like that. I just let her go her own rhythm and obviously she just showed up again today."

Wrapped up under Velazquez, Adare Manor stopped the timer in 1:37.11 for the mile on a fast main track.

"She duplicated her last race, you know, she's got that big, long stride on her," Baffert said. "I sprinted her twice and I thought she'd win each of those times and then I thought, well she wants to go long … She's like an amazon, she's got that big, powerful (way of moving). She's got that big frame but she's quick. She relaxed nicely today … I think that time is pretty serious on this track. Just got to keep 'em healthy. I've run her twice now, I don't want to come back too quick with her."

Queen of Thorns  was a distant second, in front of Miss Everything  in third. The winner paid $2.80.

Adare Manor improved her record to 2-1-0 from four starts and boosted her earnings to $176,600 with her Las Virgenes victory. The Las Virgenes was worth points on a 10-4-2-1 scale as a Road to the Kentucky Oaks prep race; however, Adare Manor received no points due to Bob Baffert's two-year suspension from Churchill Downs.

"(Adare Manor is) stepping up from one race to the other and she did it very nicely today," said Velazquez. "I looked back a couple times (down the stretch) and thought 'they're pretty far back there, I better save something here.'"

Agent Donato Lanni purchased Adare Manor on behalf of Petersen at the 2021 Ocala Breeders' Sales June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale for $375,000 from Julie Davies' consignment. The filly previously sold for $180,000 to Walmac Farms/Gary Broad when offered by Taylor Made Sales Agency to the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale.

Bred in Kentucky by Town & Country Horse Farms and Gary Broad, she is the first foal out of the graded stakes-winning Giant Gizmo  mare Brooklynsway , who also has a yearling filly by Into Mischief   and was bred to Ghostzapper   for 2022.

Video: Las Virgenes S. (G3)