Toupie dominates in the Las Cienegas (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif. — For the second time in less than four months, Eastern-based Toupie shipped to California and took down a stakes race on Santa Anita’s unique hillside turf course. This time it was the Grade III, $100,000 Las Cienegas, which she won by 2 ¼ lengths Sunday as the even-money under Flavien Prat.
Trained by Graham Motion, Toupie went to the lead and was never headed. She set comfortable fractions of 22.39, 44.72 and 1:07.09 before cruising under the wire in a time of 1:12.97 for about 6 ½ furlongs. In late September, Toupie came west to Santa Anita and won the Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the hillside course.
Anywho (20-1), ridden by Hector Berrios, finished second by a neck over Nadette (4-1) with another neck back to Miss Lizzy (8-1) in fourth.
“It seems like she really enjoyed herself out there,” said Prat, who also rode Toupie to her win in the Unzip Me. “She is just talented. Graham has done a great job with her because she can be on the muscle. She relaxed well today.”
Motion was not at Santa Anita on Sunday.
A 4-year-old filly by Nyquist, Toupie is a homebred for Alain and Gérard Wertheimer. Sandwiched between her two stakes wins at Santa Anita was a fourth-place finish in the Autumn Days Stakes going six furlongs on turf at Aqueduct Nov. 8.
Toupie paid $4.20, $3.00 and $2.40. Anywho, trained by John Sadler, returned $14.60 and $7.40. Nadette, ridden by Juan Hernandez for trainer Neil Drysdale, paid $3.20.
Live racing resumes Monday as Santa Anita will host a special 10-race program as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. First post is at 12 p.m. PT. On-track patrons Monday will receive $1 beers and sodas and $2 hot dogs as part of the festivities.
