Unbeaten Rabeeba Steps Up in Torrey Pines Stakes
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Rabeeba wins the Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar
There was a point in the Aug. 30 $151,000 Torrey Pines Stakes (G3), at Del Mar, when neither Bob Baffert nor Juan Hernandez could state with confidence that their unbeaten Curlin filly Rabeeba , the 11-to-10 favorite, was handling the challenge.
Flying the colors of Michael Lund Petersen, Rabeeba was making only her third start against six opponents, all of them holding a considerable edge in experience. In addition, she was accustomed to being in command from the get-go, most recently in an allowance win at the Torrey Pines distance of 1 mile earlier at the meet.
But then the gates opened, and Rabeeba was in a brave new world. One she would nonetheless go on to conquer.
Rabeeba made the jump from allowance horse to stakes winner Sunday as she overcame some obstacles to take the Torrey Pines by 2 1/4 lengths and remain unbeaten in her three career starts
"She broke a step slow, then she was fine," Hernandez said. "But then when they slowed it down on the turn I had to take hold of her, and she was trying to take off."
Up front, Fleet Treat Stakes winner She's No Quant was setting the pace, accompanied by outsider Kinzlee'scharisma and the well-backed Mohaven , a winner of a pair of state-bred stakes this season at Santa Anita. The others were in close attendance through the opening quarter in :23.39.
Meanwhile, Hernandez was earning his money aboard the blinkered Rabeeba.
"She never had the kickback in her face before," the rider said. "And when she felt that, she was trying to run off more. So I dropped my hands and pulled a little harder. I didn't want her running up behind the leaders."
From his box in the stands, Baffert was in tune with his jock.
"She'd never been behind horses," the trainer said. "Then once he got her back, he had to get her going again."
Approaching the far turn, Hernandez slipped Rabeeba inside the retreating Kinzlee'scharisma and ranged alongside She's No Quant and Mohaven, heading for three-quarters in 1:11.67.
"Right there," Baffert said, watching the replay. "That's where you say to yourself, 'Dang, I hope she's as good as I think she is."
She was, at least against her Torrey Pines opponents. As Mohaven faded, Rabeeba caught and glided past She's No Quant inside the sixteenth pole to win by 2 1/4 lengths, comfortably cruising down the center of the track to trip the timer in 1:38.19.
"I had to start working on her early because it takes her a little while to get going," Hernandez said. "She started picking up the pace pretty good, so I just left her alone. She was happy."
And Baffert was relieved. Rabeeba was a $750,000 Keeneland September yearling who figured to be among the stable's first string of 2-year-old fillies in 2025. She breezed a few times early in the year, but then disappeared from the tab until January of 2026, still looking for her first start.
"She had some baby issues, so we just gave her some time," Baffert said. "She's a big mare anyway, so that was probably for the best."
Rabeeba finally made it to the races in June, winning a maiden sprint at Los Alamitos.
The opportunistic Bank Shot came along late to be third, 2 1/4 lengths behind She's No Quant. It was Bank Shot's fifth placing in a graded stakes this year. Praise should be saved, though, for the runner-up, who was hounded on the front end and still gave the winner a challenging look before her grudging surrender.
Rabeeba was bred in Kentucky by Arthur Hancock's Stone Farm. She is out of the Maria's Mon mare Chatham , and is a half sister to multiple group 1 winner Air Force Blue , Ireland's top 2-year-old of 2015.