Unique Bella Commanding Favorite in Clement L. Hirsch
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Photo: Gary Tasich
Unique Bella
If you just focus on Roberta Williford, Ward Williford, and Chuck Winner's La Force in the June 2 Beholder Mile Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, you might think the 4-year-old Power filly ran a winning race.
At the back of the pack, behind a hot pace, the German-bred blew by grade 1 winners Vale Dori and Paradise Woods and powered to the wire in the final furlong.
There just happened to be an unrelenting gray/roan freight train in front of her.
The top two finishers from the Beholder Mile are back for the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) July 29 at Del Mar, but Don Alberto Stable's Unique Bella will again be the odds-on favorite.
But the 1 1/16-mile test for fillies and mares will also be her first race at Del Mar since the only clunker of her career, a seventh-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).
"Remember, she also won in her other start at Del Mar by 10 1/4 lengths. We don't even have to think about what happened at the Breeders' Cup, because it's a different situation," said Don Alberto racing manager Fernando Diaz-Valdes, after he watched the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Tapit filly school in the paddock at Del Mar July 27. "You have to run the race, though. Nothing in racing is for sure. But if you're the owner, you're feeling pretty good."
The good feelings stem from her effort in the Beholder Mile. The margin was 2 1/4 lengths, but it carries significant context. Unique Bella hounded Paradise Woods on the front end through rapid fractions and still had enough late to hold off all comers, while La Force swooped by tiring horses.
BALAN: Unique Bella Scores Second Grade 1 in Beholder Mile
La Force's trainer, Paddy Gallagher, said another grade 1 placing for his filly would be just fine with him, with Unique Bella likely facing less competition for the lead Sunday.
"(The Beholder Mile) did set up for a closer because they went so fast, but it looks like Unique Bella will have an easy lead this time," Gallagher said of La Force, who was just a head away from graded glory in the Jan. 13 La Canada Stakes (G2). "Unfortunately our filly doesn't have any speed, but in that last race, even though it set up for her, she kept at it. We were very proud of her.
"You just hope to be in the right place at the right time. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."
If Unique Bella performs as expected Sunday, Diaz-Valdes said the next step is unclear. The Aug. 25 Personal Ensign (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, the Zenyatta Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita in late September, and even an outside shot to run in the Aug. 18 TVG Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar have been bandied about.
"It's a chess match, so I don't know," he said of Unique Bella's next race. "With all these good fillies—Wow Cat, Abel Tasman, Elate, Monomoy Girl—the (Breeders' Cup) Distaff (G1) could be something special."
Completing the field for the Hirsch are graded stakes-placed runners Bernina Star and Shenandoah Queen, last-out Santa Lucia Stakes winner Yuvetsi, and stakes-placed Turkish Tabby.
Del Mar, Sunday, July 29, 2018, Race 5Entries: Clement L. Hirsch S. (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Bernina Star (KY)
Kent J. Desormeaux
119
James M. Cassidy
10/1
2
2Unique Bella (PA)
Mike E. Smith
123
Jerry Hollendorfer
2/5
3
3La Force (GER)
Drayden Van Dyke
119
Patrick Gallagher
5/1
4
4Turkish Tabby (KY)
Mario Gutierrez
119
Jerry Hollendorfer
20/1
5
5Shenandoah Queen (KY)
Joseph Talamo
119
John W. Sadler
10/1
6
6Yuvetsi (KY)
Tyler Baze
119
John W. Sadler
8/1
