A
money machine but winless in her last 11 starts, Arizona-bred Desert Dawn,
ridden for the first time by Flavien Prat, got a waiting ride that produced an
authoritative, one-length score Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 La Cañada Stakes at Santa Anita.
Owned
and bred by H & E Ranch, Desert Dawn got the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.05 after
early fractions of 24.01, 48.61, 1:13.12 and 1:37.86 and provided trainer Phil
D’Amato with his meet-leading fourth stakes victory.
Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.
Unhurried
in the early going from post position 4 in a field of five older fillies and
mares, Desert Dawn was well in hand as she tracked pacesetter Musical Mishief
while a joint third, about two lengths off the lead heading to the far turn.
DESERT DAWN ($5.80) put away favorite Midnight Memories at the top of the lane in the La Canada Stakes (G3) at @santaanitapark. She ran away with the race under Flavien Prat. The AZ-Bred daughter of Cupid was trained by @PhilDamato11!
Lucky Last: https://t.co/2eg2m7xoYN pic.twitter.com/Lor6ymnuyS
— TVG (@TVG) January 21, 2024
Three
deep at the quarter pole, Desert Dawn cruised alongside heavily favored
Midnight Memories turning for home and blew by to win geared down by a length
over a late closing Coffee in Bed.
“She
was traveling super,” Prat said. “She jumped well out of there and was able to
get a good position. I felt like if the race would have turned into a sprint, I
would have a good chance. … I didn’t know her, but I breezed her a few times,
and I was really impressed the way she was training.
Most
recently second, beaten by a length by Midnight Memories at the same distance
in the Bayakoa (G3) at Los Alamitos on Dec. 15, Desert Dawn was the second
choice Saturday at 9-5 and paid $5.80, $3.00 and $2.10.
A
6-year-old mare by the Tapit stallion Cupid, Desert Dawn is out of the Honour
and Glory mare Ashley’s Glory. With her last win coming in the 2022 Santa Anita
Oaks (G2), she picked up $60,000 for the win, increasing her earnings to
$956,525. With Saturday’s La Cañada standing as her second career stakes win,
she improved her overall mark to 19: 3-5-5.
“(Owners)
Elena and Hollie Crim have been great supporters of mine and have been very
patient with this mare,” D’Amato said “I’m lucky we get to campaign her one
more year. She is one of the barn favorites (and) my wife’s favorite. She
gallops her every morning. It is just a total family affair.”
Richard
Mandella-trained Coffee in Bed, attentive to the pace to the far turn, saved
ground and tipped out three wide in pursuit of the winner and ran out of real
estate late under Mike Smith. Off at 6-1, she paid $5.40 and $2.10.
Midnight
Memories, who handled the winner with consummate ease at Los Alamitos, offered
no resistance when challenged turning for home and ended up third, four lengths
behind the winner at the wire. Ridden by Juan Hernández, she was off at 4-5 and
paid $2.10 to show.
In
addition to picking up his fourth stakes win through 13 racing days, D’Amato
also notched his ninth overall win at the meet, putting him in a three-way tie
with Steve Knapp and Mark Glatt.
Prat
registered his meet-leading fifth stakes win and, with a riding double, moved
into a tie with Hernández atop the standings with 18 victories overall.