Uzziel the One to Beat in L.A. Woman

Owners Tammy and James McKenney’s homebred Uzziel comes back at arguably her best distance and surface and looks the one to beat Saturday in Santa Anita’s 6 ½ furlong, Grade III, $100,000 L.A. Woman Stakes. The 3-year-old filly by Harlington won the Santa Paula Stakes here on Apr. 11 going 6 ½ furlongs over the main track and followed that up with her most recent win in the Beverly J. Lewis Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs at Los Alamitos Sept. 6 after running an impressive third in the Daisycutter Handicap over Del Mar’s Polytrack on Aug. 8 in open company for the first time. 
 

Trained by Mike Puype since March, California-bred Uzziel has two wins from three tries at the distance as well as a fourth in the Grade II Santa Ynez here at Santa Anita in January after being squeezed at the start and eased. Uzziel is 8-4-0-2 overall with earnings of $152,638. She will keep regular rider Tyler Baze.

Northern sensation Stopshoppingdebbie ships south for the weekend and will attempt to win her 10th consecutive race and her first outside of Emerald Downs, located in Auburn, Washington. The 4-year-old filly by Curlin has been favored in all nine of her lifetime starts, including a first-out maiden win which she took by seven lengths. Owned and bred in Kentucky by Northwest Farms, LLC, she will be running in her first graded stakes race Saturday and will retain the services of her regular rider Rocco Bowen.

Trained by Tom Wenzel, the versatile filly, having run and won at distances ranging from 5 ½ furlongs to a 1 1/8 miles, will likely be looking for a spot on the lead, or just off as she has been in every race so far. Her only work over Santa Anita’s new main track came on Sept. 30 going a half mile in 47.60, good for ninth of 34 at the distance. Stopshoppingdebbie is 9-0-0-0 overall with earnings of $247,728.

Bob Baffert sends out Maker Or Breaker, a five year-old mare by Empire Maker fresh off a second place finish in the Orange County Stakes going six furlongs at Los Alamitos Sept. 7. Since breaking her maiden going six furlongs over Del Mar’s Polytrack in July 2012, she has predominately run in route races. Her only two sprint attempts over natural dirt have resulted in a win in an allowance here at Santa Anita on May 11 in which she was favored and her most recent second place finish at Los Al.

Owned and bred in Kentucky by Patti and Hal Earnhardt III, Maker Or Breaker will try six and half furlongs for the first time Saturday and will stay with regular rider Martin Garcia. She is 11-4-2-0 overall, with earnings of $194,658.

Tribal Gal, the winner of the Orange County Stakes at Los Alamitos on Sept 7th will attempt to win her third consecutive race after returning to the barn of her original trainer Kory Owens in June. The 4-year-old Tribal Rule filly is owned and was bred in Arizona by John Pendergast and will again be ridden by Rafael Bejarano who was up for the first time in the Orange County. Though the dedicated sprinter has only won once here at Santa Anita, in Jan. 2013, she is clearly best on natural dirt having racked up six of her eight wins over the surface. She is 19-8-2-1- overall with earnings of $301,505.

The complete field for the Grade III L.A. Woman Stakes, to be run as the 4th race on a ten-race card Saturday, in post position order with jockeys and weights: Top Kisser, Elvis Trujillo, 119; Uzziel, Tyler Baze, 117; Maker Or Breaker, Martin Garcia, 119; Stopshoppingdebbie, Rocco Bowen, 119; Tribal Gal, Rafael Bejarano, 119; My Happy Face, Joseph Talamo, 119.

Source: Santa Anita Park