Paradise Woods Aims to Regroup in Zenyatta Stakes

Richard Mandella wants Paradise Woods to help him forget.

The Hall of Fame conditioner has been trying to put the last couple outings from the daughter of Union Rags  out of his mind, not simply because the grade 1 winner was beaten, but rather how soundly the filly who flashed brilliance earlier this year was handled. He is doing what horsemen do—not dwelling on the setbacks and instead putting his focus on the task of moving forward. 

He would like the Sept. 30 Zenyatta Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park to be the day Paradise Woods follows his lead.

"She just kind of had a bad experience that last race," said Mandella, referencing Paradise Woods' sixth-place finish in the Aug. 27 Torrey Pines Stakes (G3) at Del Mar. "We're going to try and erase it from our minds and go on to the next one."

Heading into the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) in May, finding her form appeared to be the last thing Paradise Woods would have to be dealing with in the ensuing months. In her first try against graded stakes company, the bay filly throttled a field that included eventual Oaks heroine Abel Tasman and future grade 1 winner It Tiz Well in the April 8 Santa Anita Oaks (G1), where she won by 11 3/4 lengths in gate-to-wire fashion.

Since fading to 11th as the favorite in the Kentucky Oaks after setting a hot early pace, Mandella has been in regrouping mode with Paradise Woods. After stumbling at the start of the Torrey Pines, her first race since the Kentucky Oaks, things kept going downhill in the one-mile test and Paradise Woods weakened in the lane.

"I don't want to make a lot of excuses. It was a bad day and we're going to go ahead and act like she won and go forward," Mandella said. "She's doing real well now."

With many of the top distaffers training up to the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes ended up drawing a field that is ideal for providing a potential confidence boost.

Though Paradise Woods is the only 3-year-old in the six-horse field, she is also the only graded stakes winner in the bunch.

Trainer John Sadler didn't put champion Stellar Wind into this spot, but he and owner Hronis Racing will be represented by recent stakes winner Shenandoah Queen. The 5-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes won the Tranquility Lake Stakes at Del Mar Aug. 25, when she defeated a field that included fellow Zenyatta entrants Faithfully, Motown Lady, and Midnight Toast.

"She's a new up-and-comer," Sadler said of Shenandoah Queen. "She was a private purchase out of Florida, because we thought there was room in the division and it was kind of a backup for Stellar (Wind). We ran her on the grass the first time (fifth in an allowance race at Del Mar Aug. 2).

"She ran OK but didn't love it, so we switched her to the dirt and she ran really well the second time."

Jeremy Balan contributed to this report

Entries: Zenyatta S. (G1)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, September 30, 2017, Race 5

• Grade I
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $300,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 2:30 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Faithfully (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	122	Bob Baffert	5/2
2	2Midnight Toast (ON)	Santiago Gonzalez	122	James M. Cassidy	12/1
3	3Motown Lady (KY)	Kent J. Desormeaux	122	J. Keith Desormeaux	5/1
4	4Paradise Woods (KY)	Flavien Prat	122	Richard E. Mandella	6/5
5	5Rockport Babe (KY)	Corey S. Nakatani	122	Mick Ruis	15/1
6	6Shenandoah Queen (KY)	Victor Espinoza	122	John W. Sadler	3/1