Kentucky Oaks prep: Scratches reduce points for Santa Ysabel

Two race-day scratches have reduced the field to four fillies for Sunday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita, triggering a 50% cut in the qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks (G1).

Grade 3 runner-up Cipriani, one of the three Bob Baffert-trained entrants, and California-bred stakes winner Hey Jessie were announced Sunday morning as being scratched.

Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.

Because there will be fewer than five starters, what would have been a 50-25-15-10-5 points race will be worth 25 for the win, 12 1/2 for second, 7 1/2 for third and five for last place.

It is the second day in a row a qualifying prep at Santa Anita has had its points reduced because of late scratches. Saturday’s San Felipe (G2), which was won by Journalism, lost 25% of Kentucky Derby points when only five horses started.

Making her first start on dirt for trainer John Sadler, impressively bred Supa Speed was written as the 2-1 program favorite for the 1 1/16-mile race.

By Justify out of American Pharoah mare Elfin Queen, Supa Speed in five starts has been stakes-placed on turf twice and most recently was an impressive allowance winner going a mile on the lawn Jan. 24 at Santa Anita.

“She’s been training really well on the dirt lately, and we wanted to give it a try,” Sadler said of the surface switch.

Before her allowance win, Supa Speed was second in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf in September at Del Mar and third in the Blue Norther on Dec. 28 at Santa Anita, each going a mile on the lawn. She sports a mark of 5: 2-1-1 with $114,000 in earnings for owner Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing.

“She’s a nice filly obviously by her record,” Sadler said Saturday. “We think she can handle the dirt, but you never know. We’re going to give it a go (Sunday) and see how it works out.”

Supa Speed will have the services of Flavien Prat, last year’s Eclipse Award winner as the outstanding jockey in the U.S. and Canada.

Baffert has won the Santa Ysabel the last four years and eight times overall. He still has Maysam (3-1) and Howin (7-2) in the race.

Maysam, owned by Michael Lund Petersen, wheels back just 13 days after a frustrating run in the Sunland Park Oaks in New Mexico on Feb. 16. The Game Winner filly who was the 1-9 favorite broke poorly after acting up in the gate and finished sixth in a seven-horse field.

“She had a disastrous trip in the Sunland Oaks,” Baffert said. “She was behaving really well, but when she got to the gate, something startled her, and she acted up. She threw a little tantrum and never really wanted to run after that.”

Maysam will race without blinkers after wearing them in the Sunland Park Oaks and in her debut win sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on Jan. 24.

“I gave her a little breeze the other day and took the blinkers off,” Baffert said. “I think that might help.”

Maysam will be ridden by Juan Hernández, who also was aboard in the Sunland Park Oaks.

The National Weather Service said there is a 30% chance of showers in Arcadia, Calif., with a chance of thunderstorms late Sunday afternoon.

The Santa Ysabel goes at 5:30 p.m. EST as the sixth of 11 races Sunday. The first post is at 3 p.m.