los alamitos | Horse Racing Free Tips

Proud Emma Earns First Graded Stakes Victory In Bayakoa At Los Alamitos

Returning to dirt and getting the waiting ride she prefers, Proud Emma rallied to defeat Message and four others fillies and mares in the Grade 3, $100,0000 Bayakoa Stakes Sunday at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez – substituting for the sidelined Hall of Famer Mike Smith – for trainer Peter Miller and owners Gem, Inc. and Tom Kagele, Proud Emma was reserved early off the pace set by Miss Stormy D and Stellar Sound, rallied outside and outfinished Message in the final sixteenth to prevail by a half-length.

The win was the sixth in 16 starts for the daughter of Include and the Proud Citizen mare Debutante Dreamer, who was bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones. Her first success in a graded stakes increased her earnings to $304,658.

The 9-2 fourth choice in the field of six, Proud Emma paid $11.20, $3.80 and $2.40 while completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.40. Message returned $4 and $2.40 while finishing six lengths clear of Stellar Sound, who rushed to battle for the lead and opened up two lengths after a half mile despite breaking last. The show price on Stellar Sound, the 13-10 choice, was $2.20. Miss Stormy D, Blue Diva and Donut Girl completed the order of finish.

“She ran great,'' said Kagele. “We've been trying to get a graded stakes with her and she finally did it for us today. She likes to sit off it and it set up very nicely for her. We were confident she would come running. She shows up every time, but this was awesome. We plan to keep her in training in 2021.''

This was Hernandez's first collaboration with Proud Emma, whose most recent win came when she finished in a dead heat with Message in the Tranquility Lake Aug. 28 at Del Mar.

“(Miller) told me to just sit behind the speed and she'd give me a strong run. She relaxed perfectly, then really responded when I asked her to get by (Message).''

Racing resumes Thursday at Los Alamitos. Post time is 1 p.m.

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$43,601 In ‘Traditional’ Pick 6 Carryover At Los Alamitos On Sunday

There will be a two-day Pick 6 carryover of $43,601 when racing resumes Sunday at Los Alamitos, the third day of the Los Angeles County Fair Winter meet in Cypress, Calif.

The carryover was clinched when 13-1 shot Our Silver Oak captured the eighth race under jockey Abel Cedillo. Five winners paid $1,114.60 on the traditional Pick 6 that does not include a jackpot and will payout the full pool regardless of how many winning tickets there may be with all six winners.

The Pick 6 begins in Saturday's fourth race and is a $2 base wager. The sequence includes two races with overflow fields, plus two 10 horse fields, one with nine entries, and the six-horse, Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes.

Post time is 12:30 p.m. PT and scheduled post time for the fourth is 1:58 p.m.

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Baffert Runners Take Top Two Spots In Starlet But Third Entry, Heavy Favorite Princess Noor, Is Pulled Up

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Drayden Van Dyke teamed to win the Grade 1, $300,000 Starlet for a fourth consecutive year Saturday with 17-1 shot Varda at Los Alamitos race course in Cypress, Calif.

Baffert, however, wasn't in a mood to immediately celebrate the success in the final Grade 1 of the year for 2-year-old fillies.

He was concerned about the well being of Princess Noor, the 3-5 favorite who was pulled up early in the stretch by jockey Victor Espinoza.

After tracking the early pace of stablemate Kalypso, the daughter of Not This Time, a $1.35 million purchase earlier this year for Zedan Racing Stables, Inc., had breezed to the lead at the head of the long stretch and looked primed to draw away from her four rivals.

However, Princess Noor was guided towards the outside rail by jockey Victor Espinoza and pulled up. She walked into the van under her own power and was taken back to the Baffert stable to be examined.

“(Espinoza) said he pulled her up right away,'' said Baffert. “He said it didn't look real bad. It was her left front. We're going to take her back to the barn and have her X-rayed to see what the deal is. I can't believe it. She was running so easy.

“(Varda) had been working really well and she looked like the kind of filly that the farther the better with her, so that's why we've been waiting and waiting with her. I'm so upset (about Princess Noor) it's hard to focus.''

About 30 minutes after the race, Baffert told Daily Racing Form's Steve Andersen X-rays revealed there were no fractures. “It's soft tissue,'' he said. I don't know if she hit herself. She'll be fine. She didn't break anything.''

A $700,000 purchase at the OBS April sale, Varda is owned by Baoma Corp., which also campaigned Bast.

A daughter of Distorted Humor and the Sky Mesa mare She'll Be Right, Varda trailed early while kept outside by Van Dyke, drew alongside Kalypso with about a sixteenth of a mile and pulled clear late to win by 1 ½ lengths.

The victory was the second in three starts for the New York-bred and pushed her earnings to $254,500. She paid $37.80, $8.40 and $5.80 as the second longest shot in the field. Kalypso, who had a 2 ½ length lead with an eighth of a mile to run after Princess Noor was pulled up, returned $7.80 and $7.40 while finishing four lengths clear of 25-1 shot Nasreddine. Astute, the 13-10 second choice, was fourth, her first loss after beginning her career with a pair of sprint wins for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella.

“She always tries hard,'' said Van Dyke of the winner. “She broke well and we just waited. She needed every bit of that long stretch.''

Van Dyke's previous three wins with Baffert in the Starlet had come with Dream Tree (2017), Chasing Yesterday (2018) and Bast (2019).

Racing resumes Sunday at Los Alamitos. Post time is 12:30 p.m.

The main event is the $100,000 Bayakoa, a Grade 3 for fillies and mares – 3-year-olds and up – at 1 1/16 miles. The Bayakoa will go as the fifth race on the program with a scheduled post time of 2:28 p.m.

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Distorted Humor’s Varda Upsets Starlet; Princess Noor Pulled Up

Bob Baffert was favored to win his fourth straight renewal of the GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Saturday…just with a different horse. Grade I-winning ‘TDN Rising Star’ Princess Noor (Not This Time) was favored to rebound off a fifth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 6, but instead was pulled up and her stablemate Varda (Distorted Humor) took up the baton, springing a 17-1 upset. It was also the fourth consecutive Starlet victory for winning pilot Drayden Van Dyke and the second for Susan and Charlie Chu’s Baoma Corporation, which campaigned last year’s victress Bast (Uncle Mo).

Purchased by Donato Lanni for $700,000 at the delayed OBS April Sale after breezing in a sharp :20 4/5, Varda was a decisive debut winner going six panels at Del Mar Aug. 30. She was a well-beaten second behind Princess Noor in the GII Chandelier S. going two turns at Santa Anita last time Sept. 26.

Dismissed at the windows in this five-horse affair, Varda raced in tandem with previously unbeaten second-choice Astute at the back of the pack through the opening strides, but bulged out three wide turning for home as that rival cut the corner. The bay trailed the quintet as stablemate Kalypso (Brody’s Cause) clicked off early fractions of :22.91 and :46.43 with Princess Noor in tow. Princess Noor swept to the front as three-quarters went in 1:10.15 with Varda still at the rear of the field with plenty of work to do. Princess Noor stumbled exiting the bend and was quickly pulled up and taken out into the clear by pilot Victor Espinoza. Kalypso resumed command and continued strongly down the lane, but Varda unleashed a powerful late kick, inhaling her stablemate in the final sixteenth to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Nasreddine (Nyquist), the longest shot on the board at 25-1, filled the show spot and Astute was fourth. Varda was the third New York-bred graded winner of the day, following GII Remsen S. victor Brooklyn Strong (Wicked Strong) and GIII Go for Wand H. heroine Sharp Starr (Munnings) at Aqueduct.

“She always tries hard,” said Van Dyke. “She broke well and we just waited. She needed every bit of that long stretch.”

“[Varda] had been working really well and she looked like the kind of filly that the farther the better with her, so that’s why we’ve been waiting and waiting with her,” Baffert said. “I’m so upset about [Princess Noor] it’s hard to focus.”

As for that injured favorite, the Hall of Famer said, “Victor [Espinoza] said he pulled her up right away. He said it didn’t look real bad. It was her left front. We’re going to take her back to the barn and take X-rays and see what the deal is. I can’t believe it. She was running so easy.”

Later in the day, TVG’s Britney Eurton tweeted an update on Princess Noor, saying, “I just spoke with Bob Baffert regarding Princess Noor who was pulled up in the GI Starlet. He said she X-rayed clean, but has some inflammation in her left front tendon and stated, ‘she was much better when she got back to the barn.'”

Pedigree Notes:

Varda is the 20th Grade I winner, 69th graded scorer and 159th black-type victor for WinStar stalwart Distorted Humor. Her dam She’ll Be Right (Sky Mesa) is also responsible for GSP Big Family (Any Given Saturday) and MSP Geouttamyway (Cross Traffic). The 14-year-old mare’s recent produce uncludes a yearling colt by Lookin at Lucky and a weanling colt by Maclean’s Music. She was bred back to Accelerate. This is also the family of Grade I winner Abscond (Blame).

Satuday, Los Alamitos
STARLET S.-GI, $300,500, Los Alamitos, 12-5, 2yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.53, ft.
1–VARDA, 120, f, 2, by Distorted Humor
1st Dam: She’ll Be Right, by Sky Mesa
2nd Dam: Boogie Beach Blues, by Cure the Blues
3rd Dam: Lonely Beach, by Kennedy Road
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. ($100,000 Ylg ’19 SARAUG; $700,000 2yo ’20 OBSAPR). O-Baoma Corporation; B-Masters 2013 LLC & Distorted Humor Syndicate (NY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Drayden Van Dyke. $181,500. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $254,500. *1/2 to Getouttamyway (Cross Traffic), MSP, $174,830; and Big Family (Any Given Saturday), GSP, $148,433. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Kalypso, 120, f, 2, by Brody’s Cause
1st Dam: Malibu Cove, by Malibu Moon
2nd Dam: Spirited Away, by Awesome Again
3rd Dam: Cape North, by Capote
($240,000 Ylg ’19 FTKJUL). O-Rockingham Ranch & David A Bernsen LLC; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $61,500.
3–Nasreddine, 120, f, 2, by Nyquist
1st Dam: Appreciating, by Sky Mesa
2nd Dam: Hello Barbara Sue, by Dehere
3rd Dam: Barbara Sue, by Big Spruce
($360,000 Ylg ’19 FTSAUG). O-Andrew & Rania Warren; B-John C Oxley (KY); T-Michael W McCarthy. $37,500.
Margins: 1HF, 4, 8. Odds: 17.90, 11.20, 25.40.
Also Ran: Astute, Princess Noor.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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