Jolie Olimpica Set To Defend Title In Jan. 9 Las Cienegas

Richard Mandella has a busy weekend coming up at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., with Jolie Olimpica and Superstition ticketed for next Saturday's Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes for older fillies and mares going six furlongs on turf, and Amuse set for next Sunday's $75,000 Kalookan Queen Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.

Jolie Olimpica, a 5-year-old Brazilian-bred mare, will be making her first start since last July 11 when she finished second in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland. Mike Smith retains the mount. She won the Las Cienegas in her U.S. debut on Jan. 11, 2020, having been unbeaten and untested in three previous races in her native country.

Superstition, a 4-year-old daughter of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, makes her stakes debut after two straight victories at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar. Flavien Prat rides.

Amuse, a 6-year-old Medaglia d'Oro mare, last raced on Sept. 25, 2020, finishing third by a length in the G3 Chillingworth Stakes under Drayden Van Dyke, who will be back aboard in the Kalookan Queen.

“She just needed a break,” said the Hall of Fame trainer in explaining her absence of three-plus months.

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Baffert-Trained Trio Tops Friday’s Chillingworth Stakes On Opening Day At Santa Anita

Bob Baffert holds a strong three-card hand in Friday's Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes at Santa Anita, with his streaking 4-year-old Qahira, who is in search of her fourth consecutive win, rating top billing among a field of seven fillies and mares three and up going 6 ½ furlongs.

Due to air quality concerns resulting from the Bobcat Fire in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Anita's 2020 Autumn Meet, originally scheduled to begin on Sept. 19, will instead open this Friday, with both the Grade III Chillingworth and the Grade II Eddie D Stakes headlining a 10-race card.

Baffert will also be well represented by classy Quality Response, a restricted stakes winner at two who will be making her second start of the year on Friday and by recent restricted stakes winner Message, a 4-year-old filly that will be shortening up out of four consecutive routes.

Richard Mandella's Amuse, most recently second in the Grade III Rancho Bernardo Handicap going 6 ½ furlongs, seeks her first graded stakes win at age five and rates a solid chance.

Formerly run as the LA Woman Stakes, the Chillingworth honors the memory of longtime Oak Tree Racing Association Executive Vice President Sherwood Chillingworth, who passed away in October, 2019 at the age of 93.

QAHIRA

Owner: Baoma Corporation

Trainer: Bob Baffert

A winner of four out of her six career starts, Qahira, who dominated her competition by taking a 6 ½ furlong classified allowance by three lengths on Aug. 16 at Del Mar, will be making her second start of the year and will also be trying stakes competition for the first time. Although ridden last time by Abel Cedillo, top eastern rider Luis Saez, who comes to town primarily to ride Maximum Security for Baffert in Saturday's Grade I Awesome Again, will be aboard for the first time. Dating back to her 4 ¾ length first-out maiden romp on Nov. 25, 2018, she has dominated her competition by a combined 13 ¼ lengths in her four victories. With speed to spare and Saez aloft, Qahira is the horse to beat in the Chillingworth.

QUALITY RESPONSE

Owner: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman

Trainer: Bob Baffert

A winner of her first two starts in September of last year by a combined 12 ¾ lengths, this daughter of Quality Road was subsequently dispatched at 7-2 in the Grade I Frizette Stakes going a one turn mile at Belmont Park on Oct. 6, 2019, but finished a well beaten last and did not resurface prior to running a respectable fourth, beaten 3 ¼ lengths in second condition allowance going 5 ½ furlongs on Sept. 6 at Del Mar. With a recent race under her belt, look for big improvement.

AMUSE

Owner: Claiborne Farm, Ramona Bass, Perry Bass & Adele Dilschneider

Trainer: Richard Mandella

A game second when beaten 3 ¾ lengths in the Grade III Rancho Bernardo on Aug. 21, this 5-year-old mare by Medaglia d'Oro, who has two wins from nine starts, will be making her fifth start of the year and with two wins from three lifetime starts at Santa Anita, rates a solid chance.

THE GRADE III CHILLINGWORTH, WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 6 of 10 Approximate post time 3 p.m. PT

  1. Message – Flavien Prat- 124
  2. Qahira – Luis Saez – 124
  3. Into Chocolate – Umberto Rispoli – 124
  4. Mucho Amor – Juan Hernandez – 124
  5. Hang a Star – Tyler Baze – 122
  6. Unique Factor – Heriberto Figueroa – 124
  7. Amuse – Drayden Van Dyke – 122

First post time for a 10-race program on Friday is at 12:30 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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Sneaking Out Wins Rancho Bernardo, Giving Rispoli Fourth Win Of Day

KMN Racing's Sneaking Out put it in gear at the head of the lane and drew off from seven rivals to tally a handy 3 3/4-length victory Friday in the 49th running of the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif.

Packing top weight of 123 pounds and Del Mar's leading rider, Umberto Rispoli, the homebred daughter of Indian Evening scampered the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.57.

It was win number four on the day for Rispoli, the newcomer to Del Mar this season who has established himself as its top rider and now has 32 victories at the session after 17 days of racing.

Sneaking Out earned $60,000 as the winner's share of the $101,500 purse in the Rancho Bernardoi, enlarging her bankroll to $491,441 following her sixth victory in 12 starts. The 4-year-old bay, the lone California-bred in the lineup, paid $5.60, $3.40 and $2.80 across the board as the favorite.

Finishing second was Claiborne Farm, Bass or Dilschneider, et al's Amuse and running third was Kelly and Wiltz's Gingham.

Winning trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, a member of racing Hall of Fame, captured his third Rancho Bernardo and his 40th stakes at Del Mar. Rispoli now has five stakes wins at the seaside oval.

In the day's Pick Six wager, nobody was able to sweep the bet resulting in a $59,375 carryover into Saturday's card.

Del Mar will present its biggest racing day of the year on Saturday when it showcases five stakes races headed by the 30th edition of the Grade 1, $500,000 TVG Pacific Classic. First post is 2 p.m.


UMBERTO RISPOLI (Sneaking Out, winner) – “This is my first time on her. We can't work horses here, so we have to watch a lot of videos. I like what I saw. She did all this today herself. She switched leads nicely, then 'bang,' she just went. At the end she was really rolling; I couldn't stop her. She's a really nice filly.

JERRY HOLLENDORFER (Sneaking Out, winner) – “I think she was even better today (than when winning the Grade 2, Great Lady M at Los Alamitos on July 4) and my rider told me he was very impressed with her. She's getting good right now. She wins a Grade 2 and then puts weight on and still wins; you always hope she can be better. (Breeders Cup?) You always have those thoughts in the back of your mind. I think there's more that she can do.”


FRACTIONS:  :22.35  :45.35  1:09.34  1:15.57

The winning owners – KMN Racing – are Kevin and Kimberly Nish of Fairfield, CA.

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