Varda | Horse Racing Free Tips

Baffert Has Four Of Seven Starters In Sunday’s Santa Ynez

In a race that as much as anything else underscores the depth of the Bob Baffert stable, his stakes winning Kalypso, who will shorten up out of a second-place effort in a Grade 1 stakes, appears the tepid choice among a field of seven sophomore fillies going seven panels in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

Baffert, who will send out a total of four fillies in the Santa Ynez, has the one-two finishers from an oddly-run G1 Los Alamitos Starlet on Dec. 5, as his heavily favored Princess Noor, who appeared to be well on her way to victory, was suddenly pulled up at the top of the lane, leaving Kalypso on a lonely lead until rundown by stablemate Varda, who won by 1 ½ lengths at 18-1.

Kalypso, a $240,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky yearling purchase in July of 2019, was an impressive gate to wire winner of the ungraded Anoakia Stakes going six furlongs two starts back and will likely go favored in the Santa Ynez, despite the fact she was second to Varda in the Starlet. In what will be her fifth career start, Kalypso, a Kentucky-bred filly by Brody's Cause, will be ridden for the first time by Joel Rosario.

A handy 3 ¼-length first out maiden winner going six furlongs Aug. 30, Varda came back to be a well beaten second by Princess Noor in the G2 Chandelier Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth Sept. 26. In her second time around two turns, she lagged early in the Starlet prior to picking up the pieces late. Owned by Baoma Corporation, Varda, a New York-bred daughter of Distorted Humor, was purchased for $700,000 at the Ocala Breeders Sales Co.'s Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training in 2020. She has two wins and a second and will be ridden for the fourth consecutive time by Drayden Van Dyke.

Baffert's third entrant is the Gary and Mary West homebred Exotic West, who showed good speed, battled throughout and seemed to find her best stride late in breaking her maiden at Del Mar Nov. 21 going 6 ½ furlongs at first asking by a half length as the 2-1 favorite with Abel Cedillo up.

Although still a maiden following second-place finishes in all three of her previous starts, Baffert's Frosteria, a Godolphin homebred filly by Frosted, earned an 82 Beyer Speed Figure when second going a flat mile on Dec. 13 and thus holds the best last out Beyer in the field. With Cedillo riding Exotic West, Frosteria, who sprinted in her first two starts, will be ridden for the first time by Mike Smith.

John Sadler's Queengol, second as the 5-2 favorite to Kalypso two starts back in the Anoakia and most recently a well beaten second in a 6 ½ furlong stakes at Del Mar Nov. 14, rates a fighting chance with Flavien Prat aboard. Michael McCarthy's Nasreddine, third, beaten 5 ½ lengths in the Starlet, would appear to be a live longshot with Tiago Pereira up.

Claimed out of a half length win going six furlongs for a maiden $50,000 claiming tag Nov. 20 at Del Mar, Doug O'Neill will roll the dice with Brilliant Cut, a daughter of Champion Sprinter Speightstown.

G2 SANTA YNEZ WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 9 Approximate post time 4 p.m. PT

Brilliant Cut—Ricky Gonzalez—120
Nasreddine—Tiago Pereira—120
Exotic West—Abel Cedillo—120
Queengol—Flavien Prat—120
Varda—Drayden Van Dyke—124
Frosteria—Mike Smith—120
Kalypso—Joel Rosario—122

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Flood Of Northern California Horses Swells Fields, Boosts Wagering During Los Alamitos Meet

Large fields, a record Pick 6 pool and payoff, and a fourth consecutive sweep of the Grade 1 Starlet and Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert were among the highlights of the 11-day Los Angeles County Fair Winter Thoroughbred meet, which concluded Sunday at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif.

Buoyed by an influx of more than 200 horses from Northern California – due to the current suspension of racing at Golden Gate Fields – the average field size for the season was nearly nine runners per race, compared to 6.97 for the 2019 Winter meet. There were 854 participants in 98 races during the season.

This led to a sizable boost in terms of business. The average daily handle on races run at Los Alamitos was up 36% over 2019 and average daily handle increased 20% on a comparable basis to last year's Winter season.

“This meet was an unprecedented one,'' said F. Jack Liebau, vice president of the Los Alamitos Racing Association. “In the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases in California and elsewhere, racing was conducted safely thanks to the excellent compliance by all participants with the preventative measures in place.

“As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak at Golden Gate Fields, trainers and caregivers were not permitted to accompany their horses to Southern California. Los Alamitos management and the connections of those horses from Northern California are indebted to the local trainers who stepped up and assumed the training and care of those thoroughbreds.

“Without their help, the meet would not have been as successful and the owners of the shippers from Northern California wouldn't have had the opportunity to race.

“The Southern California Off-Site Stabling and Vanning Fund also helped mitigate this situation by covering the costs of transporting horses from Golden Gate to Southern California. The efforts of many contributed to how well things went during these three weeks.''

A five-day Pick 6 carryover led to a record total Pick 6 pool – and payoff – Dec. 18. Chasing a carryover that had swelled to $423,178, bettors wagered $1,809,485 for a total pool of $2,232,663. The previous record of $1,558,329 was set Dec. 17, 2016.

There were six perfect tickets two days ago and each was worth $228,816, bettering the previous best of $110,732 Dec. 12, 2014.

Baffert's latest successes in the Starlet and Los Alamitos Futurity were provided by, respectively, 17-1 shot Varda and 19-10 second choice Spielberg. The nose victory by Spielberg over 33-1 shot The Great One was Baffert's seventh in a row in the Futurity and his 13th overall. He won it six times at Hollywood Park between 1997-2013.

The meet's other graded stakes – the Grade 3, $100,000 Bayakoa – was captured by Proud Emma for trainer Peter Miller and owners Gem Inc. and Tom Kagele.

The two other stakes were for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California. Sensible Cat won the $100,000 Soviet Problem for Irvin Racing Stable and trainer Carla Gaines while 13-1 shot Play Chicken won the $100,000 King Glorious for owner-breeder J. Paul Reddam's Reddam Racing LLC and trainer Doug O'Neill.

Baffert, O'Neill and Jonathan Wong shared the training title with five victories.

Baffert had the most wins (nine) for the year at Los Alamitos, combining the Winter meet with the Summer Thoroughbred Festival (June 27-July 5). O'Neill was second with eight and Steve Miyadi third with seven.

A closing day triple enabled Abel Cedillo to win the jockey title. He finished with 13 victories, one more than Juan Hernandez and two more than apprentice Jessica Pyfer.

For the year at Los Alamitos, Hernandez finished with 16 wins, one more than Cedillo. Edwin Maldonado was third with 13.

Daytime thoroughbred racing will return to Los Alamitos in 2021. The first of three meets is scheduled to begin Thursday, June 24 and continue through Sunday, July 4, followed by the Los Angeles County Fair season (Sept. 10-26) and the Winter meet (Dec. 2-12).

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Bloodlines Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Shuffled Juvenile Sale Calendar Doesn’t Change Success Of Grads

The sales of 2-year-olds in training could hardly have had a more robust promotion than the results of racing over the weekend. One sales horse from the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's postponed April sale that was conducted in June won the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Starlet, while another sold at the auction won the G2 Remsen in New York. In addition, a filly from Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale at Timonium won the restricted Fifth Avenue division of the New York Stallion Stakes.

A poster pony for in-training sales success, Varda (by Distorted Humor) was a star at the OBS sale held in June (not the OBS June sale that was held in July this crazy year). The progressive filly was an excellent example of her sire's best sort of prospect, with the strength and speed of a serious athlete. Varda flamed a quarter-mile in :20 4/5 for her under-tack work, and she sold like the star she has become.

Part of the Niall Brennan sales consignment, Varda brought $700,000 from Donato Lanni, agent for Baoma Corp. The dark bay filly has now won two of her three starts, is a Grade 1 winner and Grade 2-placed, and has earnings of more than a quarter-million.

Bred in New York by Masters 2013 LLC and Distorted Humor Syndicate, Varda was a $100,000 yearling at the New York select sale at Saratoga. Then brought to the in-training sales, this filly looked so good and worked so impressively that she generated one of the greatest markups of the resale market in Ocala this year.

In marked contrast, the Remsen winner Brooklyn Strong (Wicked Strong) was a $30,000 weanling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall sale, then was a $42,000 RNA the following year at the same New York-bred select sale where Varda sold for six figures. Brought back to the sales ring two months later in Ocala for the OBS October yearling sale, Brooklyn Strong was an RNA for $6,000 this time. In his final brush with the sales, Brooklyn Strong sold for $5,000 at the OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds in training, held in June.

Coming out of the same massive sale, both Varda and Brooklyn Strong became graded stakes winners the same weekend on opposite coasts. The polar difference in their prices was significantly dependent on the appeal of their sires. Whereas Varda's sire Distorted Humor is the source of classic winners and champions, Wicked Strong (Hard Spun) bred 54 mares earlier this year, as his appeal to owners and buyers began to wane, and the horse was moved to Pin Oak Lane Farm in Pennsylvania in October for the 2021 season.

Brooklyn Strong is his sire's third stakes winner from two crops of racing age and the first graded stakes winner.

Despite the differences in price and sire power between the Starlet winner and the star of the Remsen, there are also some important similarities. Varda worked like a wonder, and Brooklyn Strong worked quite well, going a furlong in :10 2/5. In contrast to these quick workers, the winner of the Fifth Avenue, Laobanonaprayer, went relatively slow. That filly, by the sensational freshman sire Laoban (Uncle Mo), worked a quarter in :22 3/5, which is plenty quick for racing but not for a sales work. The sales price reflected that, and the big, scopy filly went through the ring for only $15,000 to owner-trainer Daniel Velazquez, who also trains Brooklyn Strong.

One of the reasons that I know so much about these sales horses is my work with DataTrack International, evaluating workouts, strides, efficiency, and athletic potential. One of the measures that DataTrack uses to evaluate horses is a proprietary item called BreezeFigs, which are essentially speed figures for workouts.

Using BreezeFigs, Varda scored a 70, Brooklyn Strong got a 68, and Laobanonaprayer had a 56. Several factors go into the computation of the BreezeFigs, aside from the raw time of the work. Rather than the high speed of the first two, Laobanonaprayer has the rather loping stride of a filly who should be even better going farther; that's how she won the Fifth Avenue, looping her rivals on the turn and loping past them, then keeping up those big, easy strides as she pulled away to win by eight lengths as the even-money favorite.

Another similarity of these quality racehorses is that each of them showed a stride length that was longer than 24 feet in their works. A really good racehorse has to cover the ground faster than its rivals. To do that, it either has to stride farther or to stride faster. The super-powered sprinters tend to throw in more strides, while the stayers tend to stretch out farther. The ones who can keep it up are the ones who end up in the winner's circle.

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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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