Macadamia Holds off Quattroelle in Wilshire Stakes

Quattroelle  was looking for her third straight graded stakes triumph in the April 30 $100,500 Wiltshire Stakes (G3T), but a stumble out of the starting gate, along with a game effort by Macadamia , foiled those plans at Santa Anita Park as Macadamia turned the tables on her familiar rival.

For the second consecutive race, it came down to Quattroelle and Macadamia. The pair were separated by half a length in the March 4 Buena Vista Stakes (G2T), with the former prevailing. 

In the one-mile Wilshire, Quattroelle didn't get a clean break from the outside under Hector Berrios and quickly fell behind the other five fillies and mares.

That stumble provided Phil D'Amato-trained Macadamia, 2021's champion 2-year-old filly in Brazil, the opening she needed. 

"Hector told me his filly stumbled pretty badly leaving the gate, but that was good luck for me," said jockey Tiago Pereira. "My horse broke good and we had a good trip. At the half-mile (marker), I looked back and I didn't see the number seven (Quattroelle), so I said, 'Oh, okay.' At the three-eighths, I asked her and she responded really well."

Canoodling  and Very Scary  jumped out to the front, putting a few lengths between them and the field. Macadamia, with Pereira on board, stayed within striking distance. Canoodling posted fractions of :23.01, :46.75, and 1:10.65 through the opening three-quarters. 

Meanwhile, Quattroelle and Berrios whittled away at the deficit. After being down by as many as 10 lengths halfway through the race, Berrios maneuvered Quattroelle along the rail with a furious rush past Thunder Run .

Hitting the stretch, the R Unicorn Stable-owned Macadamia had surpassed Canoodling after going three-wide at the quarter pole and moving to the front at the eighth. Quattroelle, the second betting choice, had closed to within two lengths. 

Charging hard toward the wire, the final push by Quattroelle and Berrios fell short by a length. Macadamia stopped the clock in 1:33.66. 

Pereira has been on Macadamia for her last three races, and D'Amato said he's seen progress with the results (2-1-0). 

"He's been working with her the last couple of months," the trainer said. "She's a little bit of a quirky filly and he's kind of ironed her out. She liked to make her own move and pull herself up. Through a lot of hard work on Tiago's part, we have gotten her to straighten out, level out and keep going."

Very Scary, favored Closing Remarks , Canoodling, and Thunder Run rounded out the finishing order. 

Macadamia, bred by Haras Springfield, paid $8.20 for the win. 

Out of the Northern Afleet mare Une Autre Etoile, Macadamia improves to 4-3-2 from 12 starts with career earnings of $204,413. Dam Une Autre Etoile has had four starters from six foals, three of which are winners.

"These South American fillies, horses in general, they seem to be really hearty horses and I'm lucky to have her," D'Amato said. "We will enjoy the moment, there's a grade 1 here in a month, so we will see what our options are and figure out a game plan."