Under the Stars Duels Eda, Ain't Easy in Santa Ysabel

Males and older females are in stakes focus March 5 at Santa Anita Park, but on March 6, it is time for 3-year-old fillies to be at the forefront at the California oval.

Two $100,000 stakes for sophomore fillies close out Sunday's nine-race program, with the Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) going as the eighth race over 1 1/16 miles on dirt followed by the China Doll Stakes at a mile on turf. The Santa Ysabel is an official qualifier on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, potentially awarding points on a 50-20-10-5 to its first four finishers.

Two of the race favorites, Baoma Corp.'s Eda  and Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith's Under the Stars  are ineligible for Oaks points due to being trained by Bob Baffert, who is suspended from racing at Churchill Downs Inc. properties through mid-2023.

While Eda is proven around two turns, Under the Stars is not, having raced only as far as seven furlongs.

A six-furlong maiden winner two starts back at Los Alamitos Race Course Dec. 11, Under the Stars withstood a stretch challenge en route to a three-quarter length win in the Santa Ynez Stakes (G2) Jan. 8, earning a 99 Equibase Speed Rating. Those two races followed a pair of thirds at the start of her career.

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Pioneerof the Nile  out of the Storm Cat  mare Untouched Talent , Under the Stars is related to three other black-type horses, including 2012 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner and Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) runner-up Bodemeister  .

Flavien Prat rides her for the third consecutive time.

Eda, with Juan Hernandez aboard, has won three in a row, topped by a half-length victory over fellow Santa Ysabel entrant Cairo Memories  in the Starlet Stakes (G1) at Los Alamitos Dec. 4. The daughter of Munnings   is 4-1-0 in six starts. 

Bringing a 2-for-2 record into the Santa Ysabel but idle since romping to a 4 3/4-length tally in the Chandelier Stakes (G2) last fall is Old Bones Racing Stable, Michael Lombardi, and Joey Platts' Ain't Easy . Phil D'Amato trains the daughter of Into Mischief   and has named Hall of Famer John Velazquez to ride.

D'Amato also trains the graded-placed Desert Dawn  for H & E Ranch.

Miss Everything , Micro Share , Fortunata Tensio , and Classical Romance  complete the field.

Leading contenders in the China Doll include Sterling Crest  and Urban , plus Lucky Girl  and Island of Love —1-2 in the Lady of Shamrock Stakes Jan. 30 at Santa Anita.

A maiden who was dismissed at 6-1 odds in the Lady of Shamrock, the Panic Stable's Lucky Girl registered an emphatic 1 3/4-length win over heavily favored Island of Love. Lucky Girl, an Exceed and Excel  filly, is trained by Richard Baltas and has Joe Bravo aboard. 

R Unicorn Stable's Island of Love (Kodiac ), who won her first two starts in Italy this past September, recovered from bumping at the break to finish second in her U.S. debut for D'Amato under Prat.

Entries: Santa Ysabel S. (G3)

Santa Anita Park, Sunday, March 06, 2022, Race 8

• Grade III
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 4:00 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Desert Dawn (AZ)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	120	Philip D'Amato	-
2	Ain't Easy (KY)	John R. Velazquez	124	Philip D'Amato	-
3	Miss Everything (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	120	J. Keith Desormeaux	-
4	Cairo Memories (KY)	Mike E. Smith	124	Robert B. Hess, Jr.	-
5	Micro Share (KY)	Jessica Pyfer	120	Richard E. Mandella	-
6	Fortunata Tensio (KY)	Abel Cedillo	120	Marcelo Polanco	-
7	Eda (KY)	Juan J. Hernandez	124	Bob Baffert	-
8	Classical Romance (KY)	Ryan Curatolo	120	Jay Nehf	-
9	Under the Stars (KY)	Flavien Prat	120	Bob Baffert	-

Entries: China Doll S.

Santa Anita Park, Sunday, March 06, 2022, Race 9

• STK
• 1m
• Turf
• $100,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 4:30 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	Pammy's Ready (KY)	Abel Cedillo	120	Ruben D. Alvarado	-
2	Gold Dragon Queen (KY)	Juan J. Hernandez	120	Richard Baltas	-
3	Sterling Crest (IRE)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	120	Richard Baltas	-
4	An Agent Mistake (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	120	Doug F. O'Neill	-
5	Urban (KY)	John R. Velazquez	120	Simon Callaghan	-
6	Island of Love (IRE)	Flavien Prat	120	Philip D'Amato	-
7	Virulente (FR)	Mike E. Smith	120	Philip D'Amato	-
8	Lucky Girl (IRE)	Joe Bravo	124	Richard Baltas	-