Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Anisette will weigh options ahead of BC
DEL MAR, Calif. – The threerace winning streak Anisette has amassed since last December will be more difficult to maintain in coming months.
On Saturday at Del Mar, Anisette won her second start of 2024 in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf, closing from fifth in the final sixteenth.
The win moved Anisette closer to an intended start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. How she will be prepared for that race is undetermined.
Trainer Leonard Powell said Sunday that Anisette could start in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf Sept. 7 at Del Mar, or the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf Oct. 5 at Santa Anita.
“She may run in just one,” Powell said.
A gap between starts is unlikely to be an issue for Anisette, who races for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. Anisette won her 2024 debut in the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf May 25 at Santa Anita, her first race since a win in the Grade 1 American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita last December.
What is a greater concern is the competition in the BC Filly and Mare Turf, which will draw runners from the East Coast as well as expected candidates from Europe and Japan. How she will fare against a worldclass field is unclear.
“That’s a question that will be answered on the day,” Powell said. “We’ll have a home-court advantage.”
Anisette is unbeaten in three career starts on turf at Del Mar, including the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes at a mile and the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks at 1 1/8 miles last summer.
Powell has sensed changes in Anisette in the last year, stating she is more comfortable racing from off the pace.
“She seemed to settle much more in this race than last year,” he said of the Yellow Ribbon win. “Last year, she needed a good pace to relax and finish.”
On Saturday, Powell will attempt to win the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks with Sakura Blossom, who finished fourth of 10 in the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap at a mile on July 20 despite traffic issues.
“Can she win? Yes,” Powell said. “The mile was too short.”
The first three finishers of the San Clemente Handicap – Iscreamuscream, Zona Verde, and Medoro – are candidates for the Del Mar Oaks. The race has attracted two runners from outside of California in the stakes winners Buchu and Whiskey Decision.
Buchu, trained by Phi Bauer, won the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland in April in her 2024 debut and was sixth after a wide trip in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks on July 6 at Aqueduct.
Whiskey Decision, trained by Arnaud Delacour, has won her last three starts, including her stakes debut in the Christiana Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf on July 8 at Delaware Park.
Nooni living up to price tag
Seven-figure purchase Nooni won the six-figure, Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar in the manner of a promising filly expected to be at the top of the national division over the next 90 days.
Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Nooni led throughout the race for 2-year-old fillies to win by 1 1/2 lengths as the 1-2 favorite, remaining unbeaten after two starts. Nooni won her debut by 9 1/2 lengths on June 13 at Santa Anita.
“I didn’t train her very hard for [the Sorrento],” winning trainer Bob Baffert said. “I didn’t want to overdo it. We’re pointing for the Debutante and the Breeders’ Cup. She’s shown a lot of quality.”
Nooni is supposed to be a quality filly. Owned by Amr Zedan, Nooni, who is by Win Win Win, was purchased for $1.8 million at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale Co. sale of 2-year-olds in training in Florida in March. Nooni was the most expensive hip of the three-day auction.
Baffert won the $150,000 Sorrento for a record eighth time Saturday, and for the first time since Pretty N Cool in 2015. He has won the Debutante a record 10 times. If Nooni, or another of his fillies, start in the BC Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 at Del Mar, Baffert will be attempting to win the race for the third time. He has not won the Juvenile Fillies since 2007 with Indian Blessing at Monmouth Park.
Baffert is expecting a successful late summer and fall with his juvenile fillies, he said in the winner’s circle Saturday.
“I usually have more colts than fillies,” he said. “It’s not for a lack of trying. It depends on the crop. My fillies are strong this year.”
The Debutante field is likely to include So There She Was, winner of a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs in her third start Saturday. So There She Was, trained by Doug O’Neill, closed from fourth along the inside under jockey Antonio Fresu to win by 1 3/4 lengths as the 4-5 favorite.
“She was gutsy,” O’Neill said Sunday. “The racetrack was pretty speed-favoring. She couldn’t get there early.
“The rail opened and she showed a lot of maturity to go up in there.”