Vasilika looms large in Santa Anita's Royal Heroine Stakes
Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Vasilika, a winner of 12 out of her last 14 starts, heads a field of seven older fillies and mares in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Royal Heroine Stakes at Santa Anita Park. One of seven stakes, five of them graded, the Royal Heroine is part of a blockbuster program that will also include three Grade 1 events.
The Richard Baltas-trained Ms Bad Behavior, who has been third and second to Vasilika in her last two outings, would appear to be the second choice in the race with Mike Smith set to ride her back.
The absolute epitome of a competitive Thoroughbred, this 5-year-old Skipshot mare finds a way to win virtually every time she races. One of the best claims in California racing history, she was haltered for $40,000 13 starts back on Feb. 11, 2018, and she’s won 10 out of her 12 starts with Hollendorfer, including five graded stakes, among them the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at 1 ¼ miles on turf five starts back on Sept. 29. With an overall mark of 30: 15-4-3, Vasilika sports earnings of $938,595.
“She’s very consistent, but the good thing was, she had all the conditions that enabled her to keep improving on a schedule that suits her,” said Dan Ward, assistant to Hollendorfer. “If you have a horse with no conditions, sometimes you have to run them over their head, but we didn’t have to do that with Vasilika, so by the time she ran through her conditions, she was a better horse.”
ROYAL HEROINE STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS
Race 5 of 11 Approximate post time 5 p.m. ET
1. Vasilika—Flavien Prat—124
2. Ms Bad Behavior—Mike Smith—120
3. Meal Ticket—Drayden Van Dyke—120
4. Cordiality—Joe Talamo—120
5. Raven’s Lady—Kent Desormeaux—120
6. Space Talk—Rafael Bejarano—120
7. Smoovie—Martin Garcia—120