Adare . Manor looks more and more like an adult version of the chubby boy who won 2022 Las Virgenes (G3) in 12 races. Speed control before easily unfolding in the extension, daughter of Uncle Mo won the Santa Maria Stock April 29 (G2) at Santa Anita . Park equal to 4 3/4 of the length under lead driver Juan Hernandez.
Hall of Fame coach Bob Baffert sent Adare Manor away last summer for an extended break after she finished spring and summer, most notably with a sixth-place finish far in the Cotillion (G1) of September at The Parx . Race. She made a comeback at just 4 years old with consecutive starts in optional pension races, winning her second race as an adjustment to Saturday’s smash effort.
Baffert said: “It was great because last year we appreciated her and put a lot of expectations on her but then she turned sour on us. “So we took her out to give her time and now she’s bloomed. You could tell she was a big mare with a nice stride; she just ate. On the ground.”
Exiting post 2 in a field of five mares and older mares, Adare Manor challenged Big switch for an early lead and a first turn lead. Find her rhythm through the divisions: 23.35 and :47.16, the margin is suddenly 1 1/2 long on the backseat. Big Switch, who fought Adare Manor to a loss by margin last time, managed to keep pace in the long leg, with a 1st place finish. Bellamore alone in third place.
Finishing third in eighth in the 1/16-mile race, Adare Manor and Hernandez were still gliding as Joe Bravo on the Big Switch and Ramon Vazquez on Bellamore started riding to keep things interesting, but to no avail. Through the eighth column Adare Manor is expanding in amplitude, ears up, as Hernandez settles down the coast to the rope. Adare Manor stopped the timer at 1:43.10 while 4 3/4 the length ahead of Bellamore. That’s another 1 1/4 length for the Big Switch.
“The older you get, the more you really appreciate them,” said Baffert, who won the Santa Maria for the third time in four years and the sixth time overall. “It was great to see her, when they were training so well and she was performing like that, it was amazing.”
The Odds Lover paid $3.40 to win while increasing her deposit to $501,600 from a record 4-4-0 in 10 starts.
It was the second consecutive Santa Maria win for Hernandez, who won it in 2022 on board Private mission . Coach Mike McCarthy took on the Air Conditioning Private Task for that one race last year while Baffert was suspended from execution; otherwise, this will likely be Baffert’s fourth consecutive Santa Maria.
Mongolian newspaper scratched, leaving a five-person field to compete in the $200,000 event. Smoothlikebuttah placed fourth, ahead of winner La Canada (G3) Kirstenbosch who swayed from the beginning and never gave up.
Donato Lanni as an agent purchased the Adare Manor on behalf of owner Michael Lund Petersen at the Ocala Breeders June 2021 Race-age Horse Sale for $375,000 from shipment of Julie Davies. This filth was previously sold for $180,000 to Walmac Farms/Gary Broad when offered by Taylor Made Dealer for the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale 2020.
Bred in Kentucky by Town & Country Horse Farms and Gary Broad, she was the first of a series of Giant Gizmo mares to win a graded bet. Brooklyn Street who were then bred into into naughty , Ghostzapper and Uncle Mo.
[replay date=”4/29/2023″ country=”USA” trackid=”SA” racenumber=”9″
