Santa Anita: Be Your Best is best the whole way in Gamely
It was a successful raiding party for eastern-based Be Your Best on Monday.
The 5-year-old Ireland-bred mare went straight to the lead under Irad Ortiz Jr. and never was headed on her way to earning a first Grade 1 win in the $300,000 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita.
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Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Be Your Best (2-1) raced alone on the lead while being tracked by 9-5 favorite No Show Sammy Jo, who is trained by Graham Motion and also shipped in from the east. Be Your Best set sharp opening fractions of 22.99, 46.15 and 1:09.75 for six furlongs.
On the second turn, Be Your Best pulled away from weakening No Show Sammy Jo, and there was no real serious threat coming. Be Your Best reached the eighth pole with a time of 1:33.58 and a 4 1/2-length advantage and then cruised to the finish to win by 2 3/4 lengths.
Lady Claypoole (8-1), ridden by Tiago Pereira for trainer Richard Baltas, rallied to be second by a half-length over Liguria (9-1). The field was reduced by two Monday when both Alpha Bella, who ran in Sunday’s Santa Margarita (G2), and Where’s My Ring were scratched.
Be Your Best’s winning time of 1:46.26 is the fastest posted in the Gamely since Lady Eli, who also was ridden by Ortiz, won with a time of 1:45.29 in 2017.
Owned by Michael Ryan, Be Your Best won the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G2) in January at Gulfstream Park and most recently was a disappointing eighth in the Jenny Wiley (G1) at Keeneland on April 12.
“When we had both scratches, they were both speed (horses), so I talked to the trainer, and he told me, ‘Ride your race. Let her be heard,’ ” Ortiz said. “Last time the ground was too soft. I thought she would like this ground more today. It’s more like Gulfstream’s firm turf. I let her relax and let her be happy. When I turned for home I still had something in the tank.”
For Joseph, who is based in South Florida, this was his first win ever at Santa Anita.
“We knew she needed firm going on the turf, and that is why we brought her out here,” Joseph said by phone. “Her last race we got a lot of rain, and she didn’t like it. She is a very good filly, and she showed it today. This is really big for us. We’ll see what the future brings for her.”
A daughter of Muhaarar, Be Your Best improved to 20: 6-3-2 and pushed her earnings to $1,086,559.
Be Your Best paid $6.20, $3.80 and $3.00. Lady Claypoole returned $8.20 and $4.60. Liguria, with Umberto Rispoli aboard for trainer Michael McCarthy, paid $5.00.