by Michael Lund Petersen Faiza beat a stubborn guy Pride of the Nile and survived a manager investigation to win $300,500 in Starlet (G1) Shares by input on December 10th at Racetrack Los Alamitos.
Her head-to-head victory gave Hall of Fame coach Bob Baffert a record ninth win in the competition and a sixth in a row. Starlet was run for many years at Hollywood Park before that track closed, after which the race was moved to Los Alamitos.
Baffert’s ninth win put him out of a tie with fellow Hall of Famer and eight-time winner D. Wayne Lukas.
In an internal TV interview after the race, Baffert credited 87-year-old Lukas, who he called one of the greatest Purebred coaches ever after his debut joined with Quarter Horses, for opening up opportunities for other coaches, such as Mr.
“That means a lot to me—Los Alamitos—(and) winning this race many times,” Baffert added. “It just shows the group of clients that I have. Without the group of clients, I could never have done it and I have a great team of people working with me. It was a team effort. the group.”
The investigation, which lasted several minutes, appeared to be largely related to a collision at the beginning of the stretch. Both players who finished 1-2 appear to have been exposed to the pacesetter doinithehardway who eventually faded in fourth place. can not control third. The 3-4 finishers registered well behind the two leads, with Uncontrollable 5 3/4 of the lead in Uncontrollable and Doinitthehardway 3/4 of the length ahead in fourth. lucky touch fifth run.
Prat said: “She was moving well the whole way. She changed direction at the beginning of the stretch and there was a little bump, but I really didn’t feel anything.” “Both her and (Pride of the Nile) ran really hard.”
The Doinitthehardway suffered the heaviest damage when it collided at the head of the lane, making internal contact with Pride of the Nile, who drifted out after performing a rally turning inside, and then on the side. outside with a Faiza floating inside.
Faiza, the 2-year-old daughter of girvin bred by Brereton Jones out of smart attack mare Sweet pistol , raced 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.49 under Flavien Prat. She paid $3 to win improving 2-vs-2 after her first sprint victory in six-distance racing at Del Mar November 12
“(Faiza) has always shown that she is special, and today she has to be special to win a girls race,” she said. “She’s still green, but I think she has a big future ahead of her. I think she’s going to get better with age, but we fell in love with her from the start, and she’s now. is one of the hottest gentlemen.”
She became the first 1st grade winner for Girvin, who was moved to stand at Airdrie Stud for the 2023 breeding season after a promising start to her stallion career at Ocala Stud in Florida. She was the second ranked bet winner of his first case, after Damon Mound Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) winner this summer at Racecourse Saratoga.
Faiza was a $725,000 item purchased in May by blood supply dealer Donato Lanni for her owner from Paul Sharp’s shipment for 2-year-old Fasig-Tipton Midlantic during a training sale. A year ago she was purchased by Bet Racing for $90,000 from her breeder’s shipment for the July Sale at Fasig-Tipton.
The Starlet female winner was the first bet winner for Sweet Pistol from five ponies, two of whom entered the race. Two of her three raceless ponies are not yet of racing age – an avid fat Cairo Prince and a Complex born this year.
Faiza’s second dam is a multi-award winning sprinter Pomeroy’s Pistolwho produces? Thousands of words winner of Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) 2019 for Baffert.
Starlet serves as the Road to the Kentucky Oaks prep race, delivering qualifying points for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) May 5 at Churchill Downs. Because Baffert was banned from racing at Churchill Downs Inc. come the middle of next year, a move made by the track operator after Baffert’s cadets tested positive for the drug, Faiza and the Baffert-trained fourth-place finisher doinithehardway didn’t register any Oaks points. The second, third, and fifth place winners get four, three and one point, respectively.
This story will be updated.
