Baffert Looks to Continue Winning Ways in Starlet
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Faiza breaks her maiden at Del Mar
Bob Baffert looks to continue his win streak Dec. 10 at Los Alamitos Race Course in the Starlet Stakes (G1), where he holds three of the seven entries including Faiza , Fast and Shiny , and Doinitthehardway .
The West Coast trainer has dominated the grade 1 race for the past five years with Dream Tree (2017), Chasing Yesterday (2018), Bast (2019), Varda (2020), and Eda (2021).
The 1 1/16 mile event for 2-year-old fillies is led by Faiza, who was supplemented to the race for $10,000. The Starlet will pay out a guaranteed amount of $300,000 to the winner.
Earlier this year, Michael Lund Peterson purchased Faiza for $725,000 from the Paul Sharp consignment to the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The Kentucky-bred daughter of Girvin 's first time out was a success Nov. 12 at Del Mar where she put in a dominant run to win by 3 1/2 lengths.
She will head up with stablemate Fast and Shiny who is the only filly from Baffert's entrants to have experience in graded stakes company. The Bernardini filly broke her maiden her first time out Aug. 7 at Del Mar and ran back in the Sept. 10 TVG Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1) where she missed the mark to place fifth behind And Tell Me Nolies .
In her last two starts, the filly was fourth in the Oct. 9 Surfer Girl Stakes (G3) and sixth last out in an allowance optional claiming race. The Kentucky-bred filly was a $150,000 purchase from the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for Three Amigos Racing Stable from the Hidden Brook consignment.
Three Amigos consists of Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, who also own the trainer's last entry, Doinitthehardway. A daughter of Street Sense , Doinitthehardway has yet to find success on the track after three starts in maiden special weight races at Del Mar. She ran second behind Fast and Shiny Aug. 7, was third Sept. 11, and was runner-up last out Nov. 25 behind Ice Dancing .
The filly was another purchase by Three Amigos at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale where the group went to $240,000 to secure her from the Warrendale Sales consignment.
Attempting to break Baffert's back-to-back victories is trainer Michael McCarthy who has entered the California-bred Uncontrollable . The daughter of Upstart won on her first attempt back in July but has yet to find the winner's circle again, finishing runner-up in her last two starts including the Sept. 5 Generous Portion Stakes and last out in the Oct. 8 Chandelier Stakes (G2).
She was most recently a $130,000 purchase by Repole Stable from the Grassroots Training & Sales consignment to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training.
Other contenders include Leandro Mora trainee Pride of the Nile who comes to the Starlet with two wins in her last two starts as well as a fourth in the Sept. 10 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes. The Stonestreet-bred daughter of Pioneerof the Nile is campaigned by West Coast Stables.
Completing the field is Nov. 19 Desi Arnaz Stakes runner-up Blessed Touch who is trained by Tim Yakteen for Pierre Jean and Leslie Amestoy, and Beasley Roger, and Jorge Periban trainee Classymademoiselle who broke her maiden Sept. 9 for owner Javier Perez.
LOS ALAMITOS RACE COURSE, Saturday, December 10, 2022, Race 9Entries: Starlet S. (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Doinitthehardway (KY)
Ramon A. Vazquez
120
Bob Baffert
7/2
2
2Classymademoiselle (KY)
Tiago Josue Pereira
120
Jorge Periban
30/1
3
3Faiza (KY)
Flavien Prat
120
Bob Baffert
7/5
4
4Fast and Shiny (KY)
Abel Cedillo
120
Bob Baffert
15/1
5
5Uncontrollable (CA)
Mike E. Smith
120
Michael W. McCarthy
4/1
6
6Pride of the Nile (KY)
Juan J. Hernandez
120
Leandro Mora
9/2
7
7Blessed Touch (KY)
Drayden Van Dyke
120
Tim Yakteen
5/1
