Bellafina looms large in Santa Anita's Las Virgenes Stakes
Fresh off of a crushing 8 1/2-length victory at seven furlongs, owner Kaleem Shah’s Bellafina heads a field of five sophomore fillies going one mile in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita.
Chief among her rivals in the 2019 Kentucky Oaks prep would appear to be the Doug O’Neill-trained Enaya Alrabb, who has been idle since finishing second to highly regarded Chasing Yesterday in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Los Alamitos on Dec. 8.
With the only bad race on her six-race form a well-beaten fourth place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies two starts back on Nov. 2, Bellafina, a daughter of Quality Road, bounced back with aplomb in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez on Jan. 6. She pressed the early pace and took complete command heading into the far turn en route to earning a lofty 95 Beyer Speed figure, the best of her career and easily the best Las Virgenes last-out speed figure.
An $800,000 Fasig Tipton March 2-year-old in Training Sales graduate, Bellafina has been favored in four of her six starts and has won four of them. With Flavien Prat back in the irons for trainer Simon Callaghan, she’s strictly the horse to beat as she gets back to two turns for the third time.
Enaya Alrabb, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Uncle Mo, broke her maiden two starts back at the Las Virgenes distance on Oct. 25. Despite being ridden by “Big Money” Mike Smith, the Doug O'Neill trainee was off at 30-1 in the Starlet. Attentive to the pace throughout, she came up a head short while earning a career-top 82 Beyer Speed figure.
With Smith reengaged, Enaya Alrabb, who will be making her fourth career start, looks like the logical second choice and will hope to step forward in her first start of the year.
LAS VIRGENES STAKES
Race 5 of 11 (approximate post time 1:30 p.m. PT)
1. Calf Moon Bay—Joel Rosario—120
2. Enaya Alrabb—Mike Smith--120
3. Bellafina—Flavien Prat—124
4. Mother Mother—Drayden Van Dyke—120
5. Tomlin—Tyler Baze--120