Chasing Yesterday Edges Enaya Alrabb to Win Starlet
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Chasing Yesterday (outside) just gets her head in front to win the Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course
Trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Drayden Van Dyke completed a sweep of the grade 1 races at Los Alamitos Race Course Dec. 8 with Chasing Yesterday's head victory over longshot Enaya Alrabb in the $300,000 Starlet Stakes (G1).
Two races after Improbable dominated the Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity (G1), the Tapit filly and half sister to 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah just got her head by 30-1 shot Enaya Alrabb, who came in a neck ahead of Baffert's other Starlet entry, pacesetter Mother Mother.
"Those two fillies inside her both ran super, but my filly dug in and just kept coming," said Van Dyke, who is the first jockey to win both grade 1 races since 1997, when Kent Desormeaux completed the double with Love Lock and Real Quiet. "She really showed us she's a half sister to American Pharoah. Winning two grade 1 races in the same day is amazing."
It was the third straight stakes win (but first around two turns) for Summer Wind Equine's homebred Chasing Yesterday, who traveled four wide at times in both turns in the 1 1/16-mile test and just found enough late to hit the wire in 1:42.59. Mother Mother set a pace of :23.25, :47.07, and 1:11.17 through six furlongs and continued to battle on the inside in the stretch.
"(Chasing Yesterday) was so wide," Baffert said. "Turning for home, I really thought Mother Mother was going to kick on and keep going. It was a really thrilling finish. I didn't think (Chasing Yesterday) was going to get there because she had been so wide. She's a nice filly, but (Van Dyke) really sat patient. He loves this filly, and he had a lot of confidence in her. … Pretty nice to get a grade 1 win with American Pharoah's (half) sister."
Enaya Racing's Enaya Alrabb, an Uncle Mo filly trained by Doug O'Neill, was the second-longest shot in the six-filly field off a 2 1/2-length maiden special weight win Oct. 25 at Santa Anita Park and nearly went from maiden winner to grade 1 winner under jockey Mike Smith.
"She ran super," O'Neill said.
Another 2 1/2 lengths behind Mother Mother came last-out Tempted Stakes (G3) winner Oxy Lady, who was followed by Sold It and Vibrance to complete the order of finish.
Bred in Kentucky out of the Yankee Gentleman mare Littleprincessemma, Chasing Yesterday now has $324,250 in earnings from five starts. Her single loss was a seventh in the Sept. 1 Spinaway Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, her only start outside California.