Kirstenbosch noses out Ganadora to win La Cañada
North America’s Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey in 2019, Japan native Kazushi Kimura earned his first Santa Anita win in style on Sunday. He drove the John Sadler-trained Kirstenbosch to a desperate, nose victory over favored Ganadora and Hall of Fame jockey John Velázquez in the Grade 3, $200,000 La Cañada Stakes.
Owned and bred by Keith Abrahams, Kirstenbosch got 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.19 on a main track listed as good.
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Attentive to the pace from her rail post, Kirstenbosch was about 2 1/2 lengths off dueling leaders Ganadora and Angel Nadeshiko leaving the quarter pole. Three deep through the lane, Kirstenbosch appeared to draw even with Ganadora inside the sixteenth pole, but victory was very much in doubt as Kimura stayed busy with a powerful hand ride in a thrilling finish.
“It feels so amazing, my first win here and in a Grade 3. It’s amazing,” said Kimura, 23, who was Woodbine’s leading rider last year. “She’s always a bit lazy. She always needs like a little bit of pushing. At the half mile last time I rode her (to third place Dec. 26) in the La Brea (G1), it was a seven-furlong race, and I was just pushing her to the wire. Today I was more confident to say she would show up better than last time.
Second in the ungraded Zia Park Oaks two starts back Nov. 22, Kirstenbosch was off at 3-1 in a field of six older fillies and mares and paid $8.60, $3.80 and $2.60.
“He just rode her beautifully. He tried hard until the end,” said Juan Leyva, assistant to Sadler, who watched during his to the World Racing Awards in London. “He is a really nice kid. I’d like to see him really get going, because he is so polite, and he’s a good rider, too. ... Hopefully this will open up some eyes, and he can get a lot more opportunities.
“When she started running, I thought she was going to win by at least half a length, but then it looked like when she got to Ganadora, she kind of just hung with her, and this filly just tends to do that. She does just enough to win. She’s never been one to just pull away, so that’s the only thing I was afraid of. ... But she got the job done, so that’s the main thing. I’m really happy for Keith, because they have been longtime clients of John, and they are just good people.”
In notching her first stakes win, Kirstenbosch improved her record to 10: 3-3-1. With the winner’s share of $120,000, she increased her earnings to $334,480.
For her part, Bob Baffert-trained Ganadora did everything but win. She was pressed early and late and just missed, finishing 2 3/4 lengths in front of Smoothlikebuttah. Favored at 8-5, Ganadora paid $3.00 and $2.40.
Ridden by Tiago Pereira for Steve Knapp, Smoothlikebuttah rallied from last to pass a tiring Angel Nadeshiko by a half-length and paid $3.00 to show while off at 10-1.
Dating to opening day, Dec. 26, Kimura had been winless with his first 16 mounts through nine racing days.
Fractions on the race were 23.12, 47.18, 1:11.15 and 1:37.62.