Weekend Takeaways: Bellafina's back on top of her game

With an eye-popping 8 ½ length win in the Santa Ynez Stakes (G2) Sunday, Bellafina showed she is still a top name when it comes to Kentucky Oaks 2019 prospects. It was also a successful rebound at Santa Anita since returning from a fourth-place run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. 

Trainer Simon Callaghan and owner Kaleem Shah have been high in Bellafina since the beginning. The Santa Ynez reaffirmed that she was still the same filly who dominated the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and the Chandelier Stakes (G1) at 2.

“She wasn’t even blowing. Just standing after the race, she was so composed and it was like it was nothing for her,” Callaghan said. “We’ve always thought a lot of her and made no secret of that, so it was nice to see her put on that sort of performance.”

Of course, the competition gets stiffer as the Oaks preps continue. American Pharoah’s half-sister Chasing Yesterday proved herself a worthy contender last out in the Starlet Stakes (G1) and a race between the two could provide a glimpse into the leading sophomore filly in California. 

As of right now, Bellafina appears to have claimed that spot. Her two previous Grade 1 wins earned her a spot as a finalist for Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, and her Santa Ynez performance showed she is back on her game.

The Derby trail is not easy to predict

Kentucky Derby 2019 prospects Coliseum and Code of Honor went off as the heavy favorites in their respective races Saturday. Coliseum was 3-5 in the Sham Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita and Code of Honor was 4-5 in Gulfstream Park’s Mucho Macho Man Stakes. 

Both colts showed a lot of promise on the separate coasts. Coliseum was a dominant 6 ¾-length winner at Del Mar, and Code of Honor won on debut at Belmont before stumbling at the start of the Champagne (G1) and rallying for second.

This weekend, both of them finished off the board. It was the second choice in both races – Gunmetal Gray and Mihos – that made the trip to the winner’s circle.

With the Derby still four months away, anything can happen. Horses improve, throw duds in between races or fall off the trail. And it’s too early to tell what will happen with Coliseum or Code of Honor. 

Coliseum is inexperienced and the Sham was only the second race of his career. He didn’t break well and never looked involved in the race.

“He needed the race and he got behind after he didn’t break and I was afraid of that,” trainer Bob Baffert said. 

As for Code of Honor, it was his first start in three months.

The two deserve a second chance to show the same talent they did in their juvenile year, but their weekend performances show that the Derby is not easy to predict early on.

Gulfstream produces 3-year-olds to watch

The Mucho Macho Man Stakes was the main feature at Gulfstream Park Saturday with Derby prospects going a mile. Of the four other stakes, two of them were for 3-year-olds sprinting six furlongs on the dirt. The winners made themselves known later than some of the names in the Mucho Macho Man, but their connections and Saturday performances made them worth keeping an eye on.

In the Limehouse Stakes, Stonestreet Stables’ and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Seismic Jolt won his stakes debut. The Florida-bred Kantharos colt sat off the pace, took over early and won by 3 ½ lengths.

The performance came about a month after the David Fawkes trainee broke his maiden third time out by five lengths at the same distance and track.

“If you look at the progression of his races, even off his first race, he’s been moving forward with each race,” Fawkes said “As long as he keeps his progression, we’ll be all right.”

Seismic Jolt made his first two starts on turf and is 2-for-2 on dirt so far, but has not run beyond six furlongs yet. His ownership group liked him enough to spend $800,000 at the OBS April sale, and it’s the same partners that campaigned champion Good Magic.

“He’s the perfect example of what you want,” said e Five’s Bob Edwards. “The sky’s the limit.”

LNJ Foxwoods’ Fancy Dress Party stamped herself as one to watch with a 5 ¾-length victory in the Glitter Woman Stakes, which was also he stakes debut. The performance kept her a perfect 3-for-3 in her career.

Trained by Ben Colebrook, Fancy Dress Party broke her maiden by 3 ¼ lengths during Keeneland’s fall meet and went on to win by 2 ¼ lengths at Churchill Downs. Both races were over sloppy tracks.

The Munnings filly hasn’t been past six furlongs yet, so how far she wants to go is still in question. That being said, her performances have been eye-catching.

“We’re just happy to get the stakes win,” Colebrook said. “She got kind of a late start in her 2-year-old year. She didn’t get a break. It’s a long year and a lot of big races. I don’t know what we’ll do with her yet.”

Next Shares in the peak of his career

On paper, Next Shares was no standout. He was Grade 2-placed as a juvenile, but otherwise has only won a couple allowance races and a maiden by the end of his 4-year-old season. As a gelding, there was no breeding value and his $190,000 price tag at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale seemed like a fair deal.

Now at age 6, Next Shares is a possible contender for the inaugural $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26.

In Saturday’s San Gabriel (G2) at Santa Anita Park, Next Shares captured his second graded stakes score and third stakes win by a nose. The Richard Baltas trainee spent a successful fall in Kentucky, where he won the Old Friends Stakes at Kentucky Downs and the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland. The Turf Mile win sent him to the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs, although he was off the board that day.

Kentucky experienced a large amount of rain leading up to the Breeders’ Cup, but the turf was firm back at Santa Anita, even with light rain entering the area before the San Gabriel. Next Shares stretched out to 1 1/8 miles and he hit the wire first in the last jump. It was a step in the right direction with the Pegasus Turf run at 1 3/16 miles. It was also a convincing performance that Next Shares could be a competitive force at Gulfstream Park.“It’s all about the Pegasus right now,” said co-owner Michael Iavarone. “It’s what we wanted. That's what we were hoping for. We tried to stretch him out today in that hope and it worked out amazing.”