Ain't Easy shines bright in the G2 Chandelier for D'Amato

Ain't Easy, a 5 1/2-length debut winner at Del Mar on Aug. 21, seized the lead entering the second turn under Joel Rosario and powered to the wire for an easy win in Friday's Grade 2 $200,000 Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita. 

With the win, Ain't Easy secured an automatic berth in next month's $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and also collected 10 qualifying points to the 2022 Kentucky Oaks. The daughter of Into Mischief was purchased for $400,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September yearling sale by Joey Platts, who campaigns the filly with Old Bones Racing and Michael Lombardi. 

Sent off the 7-2 second choice in a seven-horse field, Ain't Easy pressed the pace along the rail under Joel Rosario until being nudged to the lead while nearing the three-eighths pole after an opening half mile in 47.99 seconds. She increased her lead on the second bend and then kept to her task through the stretch to win comfortably by 4 3/4 lengths.

The winning time was 1:45.20 for 1 1/16-miles on a fast track. 

“It was a very good trip, she broke really sharply," Rosario said. "It was her first time going long and she did it really easily. You don’t know how good you are until you go with tough competition like this, and she did it the right way."

Grace Adler, the odds-on favorite for Bob Baffert, trailed throughout until passing tired horses in the stretch to finish fifth. Electric Ride, who was on the pace, held second for trainer John Sadler. She was followed across the wire by Desert Dawn and Censorship. 

Ain't Easy paid $9.00.

"She acted very professional, sitting behind horses," D'Amato said. "When Joel wanted to, she came up the inside, which I like to see with a young horse. She just looked like she was having fun in the stretch. I think it set up perfect. A good two turn experience, confidence booster, an easy win, where it didn’t look like she was taxed too much, so I like everything I saw right now."

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