Skye Diamonds Takes First Step of 2018 in Las Flores

Skye Diamonds has already been a fantastic, pleasant surprise for owners Allen Racing, Bloom Racing Stables, Tom Acker, and Jon Lindo.

And although the group thought briefly about entering her in a sale to be bred at the end of her 2017 campaign, after she finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), the consensus was to get her back to the racetrack for one more roll in 2018.

Now the California-bred First Dude  mare—a $40,000 claim who went on to win two graded races in 2017—will kick off her 5-year-old year in the $100,000 Las Flores Stakes (G3) Feb. 18 at Santa Anita Park.

"We'd be having a different conversation right now if she won the Breeders' Cup," said Bloom Racing's Jeff Bloom. "She'd have gotten on a plane and been sold, but because she didn't and she's still young, it was an easy decision for the group to quickly decide to not get her on that plane and to give her another year.

"We like racing and we're having so much fun with her, and that was the first thing. Then we looked at the business decision."

After back-to-back victories in the Great Lady M. Stakes (G2) and Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3), a victory in the Breeders' Cup would have put the Bill Spawr trainee into the conversation for champion female sprinter—which was won by seventh-place Filly & Mare Sprint finisher and eventual La Brea (G1) winner Unique Bella. With Unique Bella diving into the realm of two-turn races in 2018, a sprint division already considered to be wide open could present even more opportunity for Skye Diamonds, who has already proven her quality.

Her connections also know the high-level ability is there in the chestnut mare, unlike early last year, when she was still a relatively unknown commodity racing at allowance levels. That makes mapping out a campaign a considerably easier task.

"She's even better now—at least we think she is—than she was late last year, which makes everything even more exciting, and now we have a good strategy in place as to what we're going to do this year," Bloom said, while being unsurprisingly evasive as to what exactly that strategy might entail. "We know what we have in Skye Diamonds, so it's easier, working back from the Breeders' Cup."

Bloom did indicate that a possible target could be the Humana Distaff (G1) in May at Churchill Downs.

"We'll start off first with the Las Flores here at Santa Anita," Bloom said with a laugh, when asked what future races might be ahead for Skye Diamonds. "But one of the obvious races on the calendar would be the Humana Distaff. It's a grade 1, it's seven furlongs, and it's at the same track as the Breeders' Cup, so that's a logical place to be."

The six-furlong Las Flores will come first, however, and the short field also features last-out Las Cienegas (G3T) winner Coniah and up-and-coming sprinter Selcourt. Although the William Morey-trained Coniah broke through for her first graded score on grass, the 5-year-old Harlington mare also has three graded placings on dirt. The John Sadler-trained Selcourt, after placing twice in stakes as a 3-year-old, began her 4-year-old season Jan. 14 with a 7 1/2-length romp in the Kalookan Queen Stakes at Santa Anita.

Also in the field is Washington-bred Citizen Kitty, a three-time stakes winner in her home state who will make her Southern California debut for trainer Jeff Metz; stakes winner Princess Karen, who finished fourth in the Kalookan Queen last time out; and allowance winner Just a Little Hope.

Entries: Las Flores S. (G3)

Santa Anita Park, Sunday, February 18, 2018, Race 8

• Grade III
• 6f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 4 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 4:18 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Princess Karen (KY)	Mike E. Smith	120	Jeff Bonde	6/1
2	2Citizen Kitty (WA)	Geovanni Franco	120	Jeffrey Metz	20/1
3	3Coniah (CA)	Kent J. Desormeaux	124	William E. Morey	4/1
4	4Just a Little Hope (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	120	Dan L. Hendricks	12/1
5	5Skye Diamonds (CA)	Tiago Josue Pereira	122	William Spawr	8/5
6	6Selcourt (KY)	Tyler Baze	120	John W. Sadler	6/5