Santa Anita: Edgeway wins easily in Grade 3 Las Flores

Pressured early by Private Mission, Hronis Racing’s Edgeway sat a close second to the far turn and asserted her superiority approaching the quarter pole en route to a facile seven length score in Sunday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita.

Trained by John Sadler and ridden by John Velazquez, Edgeway stopped the clock in 1:10.22 while notching her second graded stakes victory.

With Sadler’s Park Avenue scratching earlier in the day, Edgeway was drawn alongside two-time graded winner Private Mission, who drew the rail with Juan Hernandez. With the scratch, the Las Flores, carded as Sunday’s first race, boiled down to a field of four older fillies and mares with no show wagering.

Fresh off a gate-to-wire win going 6 1/2 furlongs in the ungraded Kalookan Queen Stakes on Jan. 2, Edgeway, a 5-year-old mare by Competitive Edge, was off a 1-5 and paid $2.60 and $2.10.

“The focus with her is the fall, we want to get her back to the Breeders’ Cup,” said Kosta Hronis. “So staying home, not doing a lot of traveling with her until we have to is how we’ll approach it. We’ll keep our options open and see how she comes out of the race and then make a plan for the next race.

“This early in the year, we’re better off playing it this way. It’s a long season and she’s 5 and has been fresh all along, so we’ll just keep her that way and just kind of let her make her own schedule.”

Out of the Stormin Fever mare Magical Solution, Edgeway, who was second two starts back in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, now has four stakes wins to go with an overall mark of 11: 7-2-1. With the winner’s share of $60,000, she increased her earnings to $656,360.

“She was more handy, I mean whatever I wanted to do, she was there when I asked her to do something,” said Velazquez, when comparing Edgeway’s win today with her effort in the Kalookan Queen. “When I called on her a little bit she was there instantly and in the stretch, I just kept her happy, not much effort though.”

Ridden by Juan Hernandez and trained by Bob Baffert, Private Mission, who had been idle since running sixth as the 3-5 favorite in the opening day La Brea Stakes (G1), was off at 9-5 and paid $2.10 while finishing five lengths in front of Dynasty of Her Own.

Fractions on the race were 21.77, 44.47 and 56.95 seconds.