Brazilian Champ Juno Pointing to Del Mar

Richard Mandella would have run Team Valor International's Juno on the Santa Anita Park turf in her first U.S. start if the Southern California track hadn't ripped up the grass course earlier in June.

So, with a talented and undefeated 4-year-old filly ready to run, he did the next best thing and ran the two-time Brazilian group I winner on the main track in the $75,000 Desert Stormer II Stakes at six furlongs June 26.

At a less than ideal distance and surface—her last two victories in Brazil, both 2015 group Is, in the Barao de Piracicaba and Immensity were at about a mile on turf—the daughter of Setembro Chove raced in third behind blazing fractions, dropped back to fourth in the five-filly field, and outfinished grade I-placed Luminance to finish third.

"I was very happy with it," Mandella said. "I would have looked for a 6 1/2-furlong turf race, but they took it away on us. But it's nice to know that she can run decent on the dirt. I figured, 'Let's see what happens.'"

A private purchase by Team Valor after her Barao de Piracicaba victory Sept. 7, Juno has been with Mandella for "a couple months" and the Hall of Fame conditioner plans to run her around two turns on the grass during the summer Del Mar meeting.

BLOOD-HORSE STAFF: Team Valor Buys Brazilian Champion Filly Juno

"I think long on the turf would be her best thing—a mile," Mandalla said of the filly, who broke her maiden and won a group III stakes at about seven furlongs and added a group II at about 7 1/2 furlongs in Brazil to clinch champion 2-year-old filly honors in the country.

For jockey Flavien Prat, who piloted Juno in the Desert Stormer II, the gallop out beyond the wire was key. The filly went on well ahead of the field in the turn beyond the wire after finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind favored second-place finisher Sensitively.

"She ran well for her first time in the U.S.," Prat said. "Next time, going a little longer, she should be all right. She had a really nice gallop out. It was really good, so I'm pretty happy with the race."

Longshot Shh She's Ours won the race by 1 1/4 lengths at odds of 13-1, after setting fractions of :21.49 and :43.89 through a half-mile. The Tiz Wonderful filly, trained by Jim Cassidy for DP Racing, finished off the six furlongs in 1:07.75.