La Force, Paradise Woods Again Meet in Clement Hirsch
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Photo: Benoit Photo
La Force wins the Santa Maria Stakes at Santa Anita Park
For La Force to secure what has proven to be an elusive top-level win in the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) July 28 at Del Mar, she'll have to defeat a familiar foe in Paradise Woods and other talented runners.
The 1 1/16-mile Hirsch will mark the third consecutive race La Force and Paradise Woods have hooked up, and will serve as a rubber match of sorts. Paradise Woods dominated by 10 1/2 lengths in the Santa Margarita Stakes (G2) in late April at Santa Anita Park, where La Force finished second, and the latter turned the tables in the June 1 Santa Maria Stakes (G2), posting a clear victory over runner-up Paradise Woods and three others.
That was the first graded stakes score for La Force, but it certainly wasn't out of the blue. The 5-year-old daughter of Power always seemed to be in the mix since moving from turf to dirt for trainer Patrick Gallagher in September 2017. Before the Santa Margarita and an off-the-board effort in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), La Force finished second in three consecutive grade 1 races.
In two of those races, La Force finished behind Unique Bella, who earned champion older dirt female honors. La Force also finished second to Vale Dori in the Zenyatta Stakes (G1) during that stretch.
Regular rider Drayden Van Dyke will be aboard Sunday when La Force breaks from the inside in an expected field of seven fillies and mares. The Hirsch is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race to the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita.
Paradise Woods will look for her first top-level score since 2017 when the daughter of Union Rags won the Santa Anita Oaks (G1) against other fillies her age in the spring and the Zenyatta against older fillies and mares in the fall.
Trained by John Shirreffs, Paradise Woods has won or placed in her past three starts and will look to return to the form that saw her dominate the Santa Margarita. Mike Smith, aboard for her past two starts, is back Sunday.
The other grade 1 winner in the field is Little Red Feather Racing and Bobby Flay's Secret Spice, who won the Beholder Mile Stakes (G1) March 30 at Santa Anita, where Paradise Woods finished third. The 4-year-old daughter of Discreet Cat will be making her first start since finishing second to She's a Julie in the La Troienne Stakes Presented by Inside Access from Chase (G1) May 3 at Churchill Downs.
Trained by Richard Baltas, Secret Spice has put together an impressive string of works to prepare for her return. In five moves from June 27-July 22, she earned a bullet four times.
The third-place finisher from the Santa Maria also is entered Sunday in Debbie Lanni's Just a Smidge. Trained by Bob Baffert, Just a Smidge earned her first graded stakes placing in the Santa Maria. Unlike La Force and Paradise Woods, she has raced since then, finishing sixth in the Great Lady M Stakes (G2) July 6 at Los Alamitos Race Course.
Del Mar, Sunday, July 28, 2019, Race 7Entries: Clement L. Hirsch S. (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
La Force (GER)
Drayden Van Dyke
121
Patrick Gallagher
-
2
Just a Smidge (KY)
Martin Garcia
119
Bob Baffert
-
3
Secret Spice (KY)
Flavien Prat
123
Richard Baltas
-
4
Ollie's Candy (KY)
Kent J. Desormeaux
119
John W. Sadler
-
5
Paradise Woods (KY)
Mike E. Smith
121
John A. Shirreffs
-
6
Queen Bee to You (CA)
Ruben Fuentes
119
Andrew Lerner
-
7
Spring in the Wind (ON)
Rafael Bejarano
119
Robert B. Hess, Jr.
-
