Spiced Perfection Takes La Brea Stakes

Dare to Dream Stable so far has been a fitting ownership name for a horse like Spiced Perfection, who put it all together Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park.

The Smiling Tiger  filly's connections decided to take their shot—or dared to dream—in the $300,000 La Brea Stakes (G1) with their multiple stakes winner in the California-bred ranks. And Spiced Perfection, a $50,000 sale purchase, rewarded them in spades.

With a four- and five-wide trip through the turn in the seven-furlong dirt sprint under jockey Flavien Prat, the Brian Koriner-trained Spiced Perfection hit the front at the top of the lane and inched away to win by 1 1/4 lengths over fellow Cal-bred Hot Autumn. The final time was 1:23.54.

"She ran big," Prat said. "She broke off nice, and then I was outside in the clear. She was comfortable the entire way. Around the turn I was going pretty well, so I thought I had a shot. As soon as I asked her, she responded."

Odds-on favorite Dream Tree, who came into the race undefeated, showed speed but backed up harshly in the turn and was eased in the stretch by jockey Drayden Van Dyke. Dream Tree was being pointed to the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) earlier this year but was knocked out of consideration when she had to undergo surgery for an entrapped epiglottis.

"I don't know what happened," Van Dyke said. "She just came up empty."

Dream Tree emerged from a pack of frontrunners to run the first quarter in :22.68, but no longer had the lead as the field hit the half-mile marker. Happy Like a Fool had a head in front at that point through fractions of :45.68, with Hot Autumn pressing on the outside and Spiced Perfection winding up.

"She really did it on her own," Koriner said. "(Prat) even had to slow down on her on the backside, because she was running up there. I was just hoping she wasn't too fresh and get tired late. It was a great move up, to have a little pedigree and win a grade 1. I don't know what that does for her, but we're happy."

A head behind Hot Autumn came Emboldened to complete the trifecta. She was followed by Happy Like a Fool, Heavenhasmynikki, Kelly's Humor, Cathedral Reader, and Dream Tree, to complete the order of finish.

Bred by Premier Thoroughbreds out of the Pleasantly Perfect mare Perfect Feat, Spiced Perfection was purchased by Michael Faber's Dare to Dream from Checkmate Thoroughbreds' consignment to the Barretts March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in 2017. She has $622,405 in earnings and a 6-4-2 record from 14 starts.

"This was her last shot against 3-year-old fillies. We almost ran at Golden Gate for $75,000 a month ago, and it would've been smashing everything into her, so it was worth a shot here," Koriner said. "In the meantime we got an offer for her for half-a-million dollars, and they were going to let me keep her.

"They made the offer before they ever looked at her, and then took back the offer. It was a done deal and they backed out. So it was good to see her win after somebody said, 'No. We don't want her.'"