Sweet Azteca takes down the Beholder Mile (G1) March 9 at Santa Anita (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
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Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif.— Grade I winner Sweet Azteca will try for her fifth-straight victory Saturday in the GII, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes for fillies and mares going 6 ½ furlongs at Santa Anita. The Chillingworth is one of five stakes on Santa Anita’s Oak Tree Day.
Trained by Michael McCarthy, Sweet Azteca most recently romped by seven lengths when winning the GIII Rancho Bernardo under Flavien Prat going 6 ½ furlongs at Del Mar Aug. 25. Both the runner-up Chismosa, and third-place finisher Anywho also return in the Chillingworth.
A 4-year-old filly by Sharp Azteca, Sweet Azteca has a record of 6: 5-0-1 with $481,200 in earnings for owner-breeder Pamela Zeibarth. Her other stakes wins have come in the GI Beholder Mile in March at Santa Anita and the GII Great Lady M going at Los Alamitos in July. In the Great Lady M, Sweet Azteca set a new track record when completing 6 ½ furlongs in 1:14.33.
Jockey Juan Hernandez, who was aboard in the Great Lady M, will be back in the saddle Saturday.
Hope Road, who has won three straight for trainer Bob Baffert including the GIII Torrey Pines going a mile at Del Mar Aug. 31, will be facing Sweet Azteca for the first time. The 3-year-old Quality Road filly returned from a layoff of more than nine months in June and rolled to 5 ½-length maiden win going six furlongs at Santa Anita. She then won a six-furlong allowance at Del Mar in July before winning the Torrey Pines.
All three of Hope Road’s wins came with Hernandez in the irons. With the jockey now taking the call on Sweet Azteca, Kazushi Kimura takes over aboard Hope Road, who races as a homebred for Cicero Farms.
Another ascending 3-year-old in the lineup is One Magic Philly for trainer Phil D’Amato. She graduated in her second start Aug. 3 going 6 ½ furlongs at Del Mar and came right back to romp by seven lengths in an entry-level allowance on Sept. 2, also going 6 ½ furlongs. Owned and bred by John Gallegos, the Good Magic filly will have regular rider Antonio Fresu in the irons.
THE GIII CHILLINGWORTH WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 7 of 10 – Approximate post time 4 p.m. PT
- Irish Wahine – Kyle Frey – 122
- Hope Road – Kazushi Kimura – 122
- Sweet Azteca – Juan Hernandez – 126
- Anywho – Tyler Baze – 122
- One Magic Philly – Antonio Fresu – 118
- Kirstenbosch – Hector Berrios – 126
- Chismosa – Tiago Pereira – 126
First post time for a 10-race card, on Oak Tree Day at Santa Anita is 1p.m. PT, admission gates open at 11 a.m.
