Thriving, new arrival Ginger Nut face off in Santa Anita's Sweet Life
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A much-improved third in her second U.S. start, English-bred Thriving, along with a new arrival in Irish-bred Ginger Nut, head a field of six sophomore fillies in Sunday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Sweet Life Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs down the Santa Anita Park hillside turf course.
THRIVING
Owner: Red Baron’s Barn, LLC and Rancho Temescal
Trainer: Jeff Mullins
Distanced at a flat mile on turf in her U.S. debut, the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar Nov. 24, Thriving rallied to be third, beaten 2 ¾ lengths, in the one-mile turf Blue Norther Stakes here on Dec. 30, earning a solid 76 Beyer Speed figure, way up from 28 Beyer at Del Mar. With recency and Flavien Prat once again in her corner, Thriving seems the logical top selection although she was beaten three quarters of a length by Ginger Nut the only time they met five starts back at Newmarket on Aug. 4.
GINGER NUT
Owner: Hronis Racing, LLC
Trainer: John Sadler
Unraced since victorious by a neck in an ungraded stakes that attracted 18 runners (male and female) going six furlongs on turf in England on Aug. 22, Ginger Nut has easily banked more than the entire combined Sweet Life field, as she has $237,488 on account. Although she’s never faced graded or group competition, she’s won three out of her last four races and in the process, has defeated a total of 66 horses, many of them males. Her neck win in a 25-horse field on July 21 at Newbury is a glaring case in point. With a solid work tab to her credit, Ginger Nut will get the services of Joel Rosario as she tries to improve upon an overall mark of 8: 3-2-1.
THE SWEET LIFE STAKES
Race 7 of 9 (approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT)
1. Apache Princess—Kent Desormeaux—122
2. Thriving—Flavien Prat—122
3. Splashy Kisses—Heriberto Figueroa--120
4. Nomizar—Rafael Bejarano—120
5. Full Eclipse—Brice Blanc—120
6. Ginger Nut—Joel Rosario—124
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