Sweet Azteca upsets Kopion to repeat in Great Lady M at Los Al
The Grade 2, $200,500 Great Lady M Stakes proved to be a summer rerun.
A year after Sweet Azteca established a track record for 6 1/2 furlongs in winning the race by five lengths, the 5-year-old gray mare outdid herself Saturday at Los Alamitos.
Making her first start for trainer Richard Baltas and first since trailing as the 1-10 favorite in the Chillingworth (G3) on Oct. 5, Sweet Azteca defeated 1-5 choice Kopion by 1 1/2 lengths and, in the process, eclipsed her own record. She completed the distance in 1:14.32 compared with 1:14.33 in 2024.
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A daughter of Sharp Azteca out of Grand Slam mare So Sweetitiz, Sharp Azteca broke sharply under jockey Juan Hernández, floated out the runner-up into the stretch and went on to score by 1 1/2 lengths as the 7-2 second choice.
The victory was the sixth in eight starts for Sweet Azteca, who is owned by breeder Pamela Ziebarth. She has earned $607,200 and paid $9.00 and $3.20. There was no show wagering on the race that had six fillies and mares.
“I was actually pretty happy when I saw the early fractions,’’ Baltas said. “(Hernández) had her relaxed, and she was where she wanted to be.
“We got the money, and it’s a big relief. When you get a horse from another trainer (Michael McCarthy), and the horse has done so well everybody has expectations, and there’s pressure on you. I was about 95% confident. There’s little things she’s done, but we figured it out. She taught us, and we listened to her.”
Now 2-for-3 aboard Sweet Azteca, Hernandez completed a sweep of the three stakes offered during the Los Alamitos summer meet.
Hernández, who has a record 23 victories in Los Al daytime Thoroughbred stakes, previously captured the $101,000 Bertrando with Kings River Knight on June 21 and the $100,000 Los Alamitos Derby with Nevada Beach a week later.
“She is a super mare and very professional,’’ he said. “I think she won the race right out of the gate. (Baltas) did a great job with her, and she loves this track.’’
Kopion, who was seeking her fourth consecutive graded-stakes win for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and Spendthrift Farms, wound up two lengths in front of Chismosa, the longest shot in the field at 49-1, and returned $2.10.
Super Shine, 7-1 third choice One Magic Philly and Barbara T completed the order of finish.
Although he had to settle for second with Kopion, jockey Kazushi Kimura had three wins Saturday and enters the final day of the meet atop the standings. He has 10 victories, two more than Diego Herrera. Two of Kimura’s wins came with trainer Peter Miller, whose five victories are one behind meet leader Steve Knapp.