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Prat Maintains Hot Hand Aboard Superstition In Wishing Well Stakes

Richard Mandella's Superstition brushed off a subpar performance in her most recent start with a solid effort in Monday's $75,000 Wishing Well Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., as she spurted clear a furlong from home and registered an impressive 1 ½-length victory over morning line favorite Oleksandra. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Superstition got 6 ½ furlongs on firm turf in 1:14.22.

With longshot So Much Happy rocketing to the lead from the rail, Superstition was a joint second with Aqua Seaform Shame, about 3 ½ lengths off the lead heading into the far turn. With her target in plain sight, Superstition had two lengths to make up at the three sixteenths pole and from there kicked into high gear under aggressive handling from Prat.

“I was disappointed in her last race, because we know she has a lot of ability, her earlier races show that,” said Prat, in reference to a fourth place run at six furlongs on turf in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes on Jan. 9. “She has plenty of speed, but it's nice to see her relax. Having that horse in front of us helped.”

A five-furlong turf maiden winner Nov. 14 and a five-furlong turf allowance winner on Nov. 29, Superstition was off at 9-2 in a field of seven older fillies and mares and paid $11.80, $4.60 and $3.20.

“She had been training better going into this,” Mandella allowed. “She settled better today, which is encouraging. We might think about a mile next time.”

A 4-year-old filly by Ghostzapper out of the Distorted Humor mare Grand Glory, Superstition is owned by Perry R. and Ramona S. Bass. In getting her first stakes win, Superstition improved her overall mark to 7-3-2-1 and with the winner's share of $48,360, increased her earnings to $153,180.

Last turning for home, about six lengths off the lead, Neil Drysdale's Oleksandra put in a determined bid but ran out of real estate while finishing 1 ¾ lengths clear of Constantia. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Australian-bred Oleksandra was off at 8-5 and paid $3.20 and $2.40.

With Jose Valdivia, Jr. up, Constantia rallied from next to last at 16-1 and paid $4.00 to show while finishing a neck clear of French-bred Guitty.

Third in the Las Cienegas, Lighthouse got crushed in the late betting to go off as the 7-5 favorite but never threatened while finishing fifth with Juan Hernandez.

Fractions on the race were 20.75, 43.03 and 1:07.83.

Note: Prat also won the eighth and final race, giving him three wins on the day, capping a huge four-day week that saw him win 11 races, including two stakes. With 30 wins through 25 racing days, he's one win clear of Juan Hernandez atop the jockey standings and with 998 North American wins he's just two shy of an important milestone heading into Friday's nine-race card which begins at 12:30 p.m.

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Rombauer Wears Down Javanica For Hard-Fought El Camino Real Derby Win

Rombauer made his sophomore seasonal debut a winning one in the feature race at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., on Saturday, the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles. With the victory, Rombauer earned 10 Kentucky Derby points and an all-expenses paid, free berth into the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, on Saturday, May 15. Jockey Kyle Frey guided the son of Twirling Candy to victory for trainer Michael McCarthy.

Sent off as the 6-5 favorite in the field of eight, Rombauer sat last for the first three quarters of a mile before making an outside move on the far turn. Swinging for home while still in the clear, Rombauer quickly picked off six rivals in midstretch before digging down deep to collar runner-up finisher Javanica in the final 50 yards.

Javanica, a filly racing against boys for Godolphin, finished a neck off of Rombauer at the finish. 99-1 shot Govenor's Party completed the trifecta and It's My House, who set the pace before fading in the final furlong, held on for fourth place. Waspirant, Petruchio, Tesoro and Play Chicken completed the order of finish. Rombauer covered nine furlongs on Tapeta in 1:51.64 seconds.

With the El Camino Real Derby victory in the bag, Rombauer improved his overall record to two wins and one second-place finish from five lifetime starts, with career earnings of $210,500. Rombauer is a homebred colt bred by owners John and Diane Fradkin. McCarthy picked up his second El Camino Real Derby victory with the score, having finished first with Paved in 2018.

This is the second El Camino Real Derby win for Jockey Kyle Frey, who won the race in 2017 aboard Zakaroff.

Live racing at Golden Gate Fields resumes Sunday afternoon, with first post set at 12:45 PM. PT.

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Merneith Leads 1-2-3 Baffert Finish In Santa Monica Stakes

Ridden for the first time by Edwin Maldonado, longshot Merneith broke running from the rail and took eight rivals gate to wire at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., winning Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes by 2 ¼ lengths while keying a Bob Baffert trifecta. A 4-year-old daughter of Baffert's 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Merneith got seven furlongs in 1:22.28.

Quick from the blocks but under a snug hold head and head with stablemate Golden Principal, Merneith was set down three-sixteenths of a mile from home and quickly spurted clear in a no-doubt-about-it effort as Golden Principal and Qahira completed the Baffert tri.

“I had five fillies for the race and I ended up with three and I needed a rider,” said Baffert when asked how it was that Maldonado was named to ride. “The one thing about Edwin is he's probably one the best speed gate riders there is. This filly, every time I run her, I expect to win and she gets beat…I've been really surprised she hadn't done what (she did) today and she showed it. I'm just really happy for him. He did a fantastic job getting her out of the gate, she relaxed.

“She looks like American Pharoah to me. When she came in, she looked almost like a spitting image of him. I'm glad they (American Pharoah's progeny) are starting to run now…The (owner) in Dubai, I was telling him how high I was on this filly. Today is the day she finally showed what she has and that was a pretty tough field of horses that she beat. To win one-two-three, it was nice cheering down the lane.”

Third, beaten 3 ¾ lengths versus sophomore fillies in the G1, seven-furlong La Brea Stakes on Dec. 26, Merneith was off at 9-1 and paid $20.40, $9.20 and $5.80.

“I'm just so happy, it's another dream of mine to win for Bob Baffert,” said Maldonado. “It took awhile, but we got it done. … At first she broke good, I looked over and I see Mike Smith (aboard Golden Principal) and he was right next to me and I'm like 'Oh, what do I do? Should I let him go or no?' But it worked out good, Mike stayed off of me and we both relaxed. Going into the race, Bob was telling me she was doing good and had good works.”

Owned by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, Merneith, who is out of the Flatter mare Flattermewithroses, Merneith registered her first graded stakes win and improved her overall mark to 10-4-3-2. With the winner's share of $120,000, she increased her earnings to $357,900.

Second in the La Brea, Golden Principal was again second best today, finishing 2 ¼ lengths clear of Qahira. Off at 5-1, Golden Principal paid $6.80 and $4.60.

Forwardly placed throughout, Qahira finished 1 ¼ lengths in front of Biddy Duke. Ridden by Joel Rosario, Qahira was off at 3-1 and paid $4.20 to show.

Prominent disappointments in the race were last year's winner, Hard Not to Love, who went off as the 2-1 favorite, and the La Brea winner Fair Maiden, both of whom never threatened and finished seventh and eighth respectively.

Fractions on the Santa Monica were 22.64, 45.34 and 1:09.61.

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Al Quoz In Dubai Could Be Next For Leinster Following Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Victory

Rusty Arnold-trained Leinster came through in the stretch for the bettors who made him their 2-5 favorite, adding the $100,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3) to his growing list of graded-stakes victories.

The Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint, a five-furlong dash for older horses, and the $100,000 Gulfstream Park Sprint (G3), a six-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up, co-headlined a 12-race program that also featured a mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool.

Leinster broke alertly from the starting gate to contest the early pace between horses before being eased back by jockey Luis Saez, who was content to track pacesetter High Crime and Inter Miami during a :21.03 first quarter of a mile. Saez eased Leinster to the outside on the turn into the homestretch and the veteran turf sprinter responded with a powerful stretch drive to catch High Crime by a neck.

“That was the trip that we expected. I know we had some speed inside, but he's that kind of horse that you can't rush him early. You have to let him get his feet,” Saez said. “When he came to the stretch, he knows what to do. He was always responding and it was easy for him. When we came to the stretch, I knew we were going to be OK. I know [High Crime] was a pretty tough horse, but Leinster he came from the layoff, too, so we didn't want to push him early. He did his job.”

Making his first start since finishing third in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at Keeneland, Leinster ran five furlongs on a 'good' turf course in :55.29.

“I liked the way he did it. They were going head and head; they were going so fast, [Saez] took him back and gave him a breather,” said Arnold, who trains Leinster for Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley and Westrock Stables LLC. “It looked for a second he might not get there, but he that gear.”

High Crime, the 3-1 second choice ridden by Julien Leparoux, held second 1 ½ lengths head of Harrysontheloose and jockey Junior Alvarado.

Leinster won back-to-back Grade 2 stakes, the Shakertown and the Woodford, over a fast Keeneland course before finishing just a length behind victorious Glass Slippers over a 'good' Keeneland turf in the Breeders' Cup.

“Since he started running sprints on the grass, he's missed the board once, and that was in the [2019] Breeders' Cup [Turf Sprint]. He didn't get a trip and maybe he was over the top,” Arnold said.

Arnold said that the 6-year-old son of Majestic Warrior would likely run next in the $1 million Al Quoz (G1) on the March 28 Dubai World Cup undercard or the April 3 Shakertown (G2) at Keeneland.

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