Desert Dawn Upsets Adare Manor in Santa Anita Oaks
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Desert Dawn upsets Adare Manor in the Santa Anita Oaks at Santa Anita Park
H & E Ranch's Desert Dawn may have been the longest shot on the board for the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G2) April 9 at Santa Anita Park, but no one told the Arizona-bred filly her odds.
Closing from eight lengths off the lead of pacesetting fellow Phil D'Amato trainee Ain't Easy at 14-1 odds, the homebred daughter of Cupid gave 3-5 favorite Adare Manor all she could handle in a ding-dong battle down to the wire and emerged victorious by a neck.
Desert Dawn was entered off a fourth in the March 6 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) and had just a maiden win earned in August 2021 to her credit, yet punched her ticket to the May 6 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) with her win in Saturday's 1 1/16-mile event. The Santa Anita Oaks awarded qualifying points on a 100-40-20-10 scale to the top four finishers, placing Desert Dawn fifth on the Kentucky Oaks Leaderboard for a field limited to 14 starters.
Off at odds of 3-1, Ain't Easy shot to the front from post 2 while Adare Manor and John Velazquez, breaking from the far outside in a field of five sophomore fillies, pressed her every step of the way through splits of :23.05, :46.46, 1:10.56, and 1:37.76.
Ain't Easy had a head advantage on the favorite turning for home but tired leaving the furlong pole while Desert Dawn pounced and inched clear late to narrowly prevail.
"We are obviously disappointed in the result," Velazquez said of Adare Manor's loss. "She just didn't run her 'A' race. She broke slowly and was in a good position in the backstretch, but she just didn't run the way she usually does."
It was 7 1/2 lengths back to Ain't Easy, who held for third. The final time was 1:43.50 on a fast track. Desert Dawn returned $31.20 on a $2 win ticket.
"She's an honest filly," D'Amato said of the winner. "I always thought once she'd get her scenario, it would work out for her, and I think the longer, the better. Umberto's been breezing her and her last drill was probably her best drill to date, so it all worked out."
Out of the winning Honour and Glory mare Ashley's Glory , Desert Dawn improved her record to 2-0-1 from seven starts and increased her earnings to $378,400. She is the first graded stakes winner out of the mare and one of her most recent progeny, the other being a yearling Mineshaft filly.
"I knew we needed that last race and I felt the last work was better than shown," said Rispoli. "I just wanted to keep her outside and I knew the pace would set up really well for her. We started to move at the three-eighths pole and she fought every step of the way...Now, it is on to Kentucky!"