Adare Manor wins consecutive editions of the Santa Margarita (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif.— For the second year in a row, Adare Manor cruised to a front-running victory in the GII, $200,000 Santa Margarita Stakes Saturday at Santa Anita.
Dispatched at 1-9, Adare Manor broke in front under Juan Hernandez and was never challenged on her way to a 4 ¼-length victory over runner-up Coffee in Bed (10-1). In last year’s 1 1/8-mile Santa Margarita for fillies and mares, Adare Manor and Juan Hernandez went gate to wire to win by 4 ½ lengths.
The last repeat winner of the Santa Margarita was Hall of Famer Bayakoa in 1989 and 1990.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Adare Manor won in a final time of 1:50.86 after being allowed to set a moderate pace. Fractions for the race were 23.65, 48.77, 1:12.97 and 1:37.76.
Hennys Crazy Train (26-1), with Hector Berrios up for trainer John Sadler, finished a half-length back of Coffee in Bed in third.
Owned by Michael Lund Pedersen, Adare Manor is now 17: 9-5-0 with six stakes wins and $1,856,600 in earnings. In two previous starts this year, the 5-year-old Uncle Mo mare won the GI Apple Blossom April 13 at Oaklawn Park and was second in the GII Beholder Mile at Santa Anita March 9.
Last year, in addition to the Santa Margarita, Adare Manor also won the GI Clement L. Hirsch at Del Mar and GII Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita.
Following the scratch of Blue Dream Machine, there was no show wagering. Adare Manor paid $2.10 and $2.10. Coffee in Bed paid $2.60
Live racing resumes Monday at Santa Anita with a 11-race card including the GII Hollywood Gold Cup, GI Shoemaker Mile and GI Gamely. First post is 1 p.m. PT. Admission gates open at 11 a.m.
Santa Margarita Stakes Quotes
Jockey Quotes
Juan Hernandez, Adare Manor, Winner: “She broke really sharp out of the gate. I didn’t ask her, I just let her go. She loves to run behind the pace, but today I was the pace, so she wanted to go. I let her go. She was a little aggressive out of the gate, she relaxed took a breath, and just kept on going. Today, she just was trying to go a little earlier. She was trying to take off around the five-eighths pole, so I had to hold her for a little while. At the quarter pole she switched leads and just kept going. I didn’t mess too much with her today because it wasn’t necessary. Great training from Bob.”
Trainer Quotes
Bob Baffert, Adare Manor, Winner: “Well, we wanted the ‘W’ and that was the main thing. She was training great for this, she had a big effort last time, but she handled it well and I thought this was a good spot. Won’t be another spot till we get to Del Mar for a while. We just really enjoy her and that’s why Michael Lund Petersen is in the business to watch his horses run. He says he needs more, so we’re going to buy him some. He needs more action.
“Michael has learned the ups and downs of racing, it’s tough, but its horses like this that make it all worthwhile and makes it fun. That’s why we’re in this game, we love our horses, we love competing, we love watching them compete and when you get a good one like this you better enjoy them because they are hard to find.”
