Santa Anita: Adare Manor looks BC-ready after Zenyatta win

Adare Manor, in search of her fifth consecutive win and fourth graded-stakes score, was dispatched as the prohibitive 1-9 favorite in Sunday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes, and she certainly ran to the betting, coasting to a 5 1/4-length score under Juan Hernández.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Adare Manor got 1 1/16 miles eased at the wire in 1:43.70, and she will be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

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“She just keeps improving, and we wanted to see something like this to see if we were going to take a crack at the Breeders’ Cup,” Baffert said. “So I think if she comes out of it well, we will go for it.”

Breaking sharply and in firm control throughout, Adare Manor had a 2 1/2-length lead on Desert Dawn leaving the quarter pole, where Hernández took a peek back to his left. From there the 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo widened while well within herself.

“Today all the credit goes to my filly, to Bob and his team,” Hernández said. “They brought her ready. She broke a little slow the last couple of times, but today she broke on her own. I didn’t even have to push her. She was just galloping around on the lead, and I didn’t do much today.”

A winner of a pair of Grade 2 stakes on the same track this past spring, namely the Santa Maria and the Santa Margarita, Adare Manor was most recently a one-length winner of the Clement L. Hirsch (G1) at Del Mar going Sunday’s distance Aug. 5.

With no show wagering, Adare Manor paid $2.20 and $2.10. Owned by Michael Lund Petersen, she is out of the Giant Gizmo mare Brooklynsway, and she picked up $120,000 to increase her earnings to $981,600 from an overall race record of 13: 7-4-0.

Consistent Arizona-bred Desert Dawn, trained by Phil D’Amato, clearly was second best, finishing 6 1/4 lengths in front of Micro Share, who at 5-1 with Umberto Rispoli paid $2.40 to show.

Fractions for the Zenyatta were 23.71, 47.91, 1:11.96 and 1:37.04.

Espinoza rides Balladeer to John Henry win

Although he is a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017, business has been slow of late for Víctor Espinoza. In the $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship (G2) the 51-year-old native of México City looked half his age and took no prisoners while aboard trainer George Papaprodromou’s Balladeer for the first time, leading seven rivals on a merry chase en route to a half-length score while 1 1/4 miles in 1:58.94.

Fresh off a rousing gate to wire score going 1 5/16 miles on turf under Florent Géroux at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 9, Balladeer was keen out of the gate and wide in the short run down the hillside turf to the dirt crossing. He settled into a nice, rhythmic stride as the field came past the wire for the first time.

Espinoza had Balladeer bounding along to the far turn while last year’s John Henry winner Masteroffoxhounds loomed dangerously, cutting Balladeer’s lead to a half-length at the quarter pole. Balladeer was far from finished, and he repelled the challenge while staying on gamely to prevail in a huge effort.

Off at 6-1 in his second stakes assignment, Balladeer paid $15.00, $9.00 and $6.60.

A 4-year-old colt owned by Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran and sired by Distorted Humor out of the Galileo mare Golden Ballad, Balladeer picked up $120,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $367,290 from an overall mark of 18: 4-2-2.

Trained by Phil D’Amato and ridden by Edwin Maldonado, Masteroffoxhounds ran a tremendous race and actually was gaining on the winner at the wire but had to settle for second place, finishing 1 1/4 lengths in front of Speaking Scout. Off at 12-1, Masteroffoxhounds paid $8.60 and $6.00.

Next to last heading to the far turn, Speaking Scout, off at 7-1 with Joel Rosario, paid $4.60 to show after finishing a half-length in front of Brazil-bred Planetario.

Early fractions were 23.36, 47.41, 1:12.07 and 1:35.95.

Missed the Cut make the Tokyo City Cup

Originally based in England, John Sadler’s long-fused Missed the Cut went from turf to dirt and responded with his first stateside victory, winning by 5 1/2 lengths at 1 1/2 miles in the $100,000 Tokyo City Cup (G3). Confidently ridden by Rispoli, he got the trip in 2:32.78.

With the field reduced to four runners by the late scratch of Donner Lake, Rispoli was intent on attending the pace set by Bob Baffert’s Azul Coast, who showed the way to the quarter pole. Missed the Cut saved ground at the rail and then swung three-wide outside of both Azul Coast and Kiss Today Goodbye, who wrested control from the pacesetter turning for home.

At that point Missed the Cut was ready for his best, and he sailed by Kiss Today Goodbye under mild, hand urging and appeared to find his best stride late in a dominant effort.

Most recently a close fourth going 1 3/8 miles on grass in the Del Mar Handicap (G2) on Sept. 2, Missed the Cut was off at 3-5 and paid $3.20 and $2.20 with no show wagering. Owned by Bee Zee, Lanes End Racing, St. Elias Stables, Edward Babington, Edward Hudson and Lynne Hudson, the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred by Quality Road had three minor-stakes wins on grass in England at age 3 and is 11: 5-1-0. With the $60,000 winner’s share, he increased his earnings to $285,777.

Ridden by Héctor Berrios, Kiss Today Goodbye bested Azul Coast by 4 1/4 lengths for second. Off at 6-1, he paid $4.60 to place.

Fractions for the race were 24.65, 49.79, 1:15.23, 1:41.67 and 2:07.39.