Midnight Memories. (Benoit Photo)
Los Alamitos Press Release
CYPRESS, Calif.—Daughter emulated mother in the $101,000 Bayakoa Stakes Friday.
Nine years after Tiz Midnight won the inaugural running of the race at Los Alamitos, Midnight Memories did the same, scoring as the even-money favorite in the Grade III for fillies and mares.
Racing for the same owner-trainer combination as Tiz Midnight, the 4-year-old Master filly was ready after a layoff of more than nine months, running down 7-5 second choice Desert Dawn in the final sixteenth of a mile to win by one length.
Owned by breeders Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Midnight Memories earned her fifth win in eight tries and pushed her earnings to $424,680. Three of her victories have come in graded events and she’s only been worse than third once.
Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Midnight Memories completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.80 and she paid $4, $2.60 and $2.20.
The win was the second in a row for Baffert in the Bayakoa as he took the previous renewal in 2021 with As Time Goes By.
Desert Dawn, who was seeking her first win since the 2022 Santa Anita Oaks, got the jump on the eventual winner around the turn, opening a clear advantage into the lane, but ultimately had to settle for second for the fifth time in her career while nearly six lengths clear of stablemate Turnerloose.
Desert Dawn returned $2.20 and $2.10 while the show price on Turnerloose, the fourth choice in the field of seven at nearly 8-1, was $3.80. Ganadora, Smoothlikebuttah, Trouville and Violent Runner completed the order of finish.
Mike Marlow, Baffert’s assistant trainer, thought Midnight Memories, who hadn’t raced since finishing third in the Grade I Beholder Mile March 11, was in trouble when Desert Dawn moved away from her.
“She had trained well for this, but, in all honesty, I thought she was done on the turn,’’ said Marlow. “(Hernandez) started riding her pretty hard and at the three-eighths pole I thought to myself she’s not going anywhere.
“Then Juan got her outside and she came back. He just said she didn’t want to run into the kickback. He did a great job riding her. She showed a new dimension today coming from off the pace.’’
The stakes win was the second in less than a week for Hernandez, who captured the Grade II Starlet last weekend for Baffert aboard Nothing Like You.
“She broke sharp, but I let her settle off the two leaders (stablemate Ganadora and Violent Runner),’’ said Hernandez, the all-time daytime thoroughbred meet leader with 16 stakes wins. “She doesn’t like dirt in the face, so I tried to avoid that as much as I could down the backside.
“(Desert Dawn) got the jump on us turning for home, but once I swung this filly out in the stretch she really took off.’’
Jockeys Jose Valdiva, Jr. and Armando Aguilar both doubled Friday. The former swept the early double with favored Class Clown in the first and Creative Way in the second while the latter scored with first time starter Toledo Rocket in the fifth and Dancing Soul in the seventh.
12 Races Slated For Closing Day Of Winter Thoroughbred Meet
Early Post Time (11:30) A.M.) For Sunday, December 17
Post time for Sunday, Dec. 17—the final day of the Winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos—will be 11:30 a.m., one hour earlier than the first five programs of the season.
There will be 12 races—with 97 entrants—on the closing day card, topped by the $100,000 King Glorious Stakes. The one-mile race, which will be the 12th on the program, is restricted to 2-year-olds bred or sired in California.
There will be mandatory payouts in all wagers. The $2 Pick Six will cover Races 7-12. The 50-cent Players’ Pick 5 will be Races 1-5 while there will be $1 Pick Fours on Races 2-5, 6-9 and 9-12 and a $1 Super High 5 on Race 12.
