Hot Peppers Bound for La Brea Stakes
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Photo: Keeneland/Coady Photography
Hot Peppers trains in October at Keeneland
Graded-stakes winning 3-year-old filly Hot Peppers , who scratched from the Dec. 10 $120,000 Garland of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, will attempt to end her season on a high note when shipping to Santa Anita Park for the $300,000 La Brea Stakes (G1) Dec. 26.
Owned by Michael Dubb and Michael J. Caruso, Hot Peppers won her first two starts for trainer Rudy Rodriguez, capturing the Jersey Girl Stakes and Victory Ride Stakes (G3) in wire-to-wire fashion over the summer at Belmont Park. She was second in the Aug. 6 Longines Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course before finishing fourth as the lukewarm favorite in the Sept. 2 Prioress Stakes (G2).
The Khozan filly initially targeted the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) for her return but was scratched after stepping on a stone in training and developing a bruise.
Hot Peppers breezed a half-mile over the Belmont training track in :48.75 Saturday morning in preparation for the seven-furlong La Brea.
“She worked well yesterday and seemed to be doing well this morning, so everything is pointing that way,” Rodriguez said. “We were going to run her here because it’s her home track, but the boss wants to try for some more grade 1 black type. For her resume as a broodmare, it would make sense for us to try that. We just have to get lucky and hope for the best.”