By Jill Williams
To see Adare Manor (f, 4, Uncle Mo–Brooklynsway, by Giant Gizmo) gallop out after Santa Anita's GII Zenyatta S. was to see a filly who looked like she was pretty proud of herself. Indeed, she should have been. The Zenyatta was Adare Manor's fifth straight win, as well as fourth consecutive graded win, and she took this one in the most facile manner possible, eased up as she cruised under the line a 5 1/4-length victress.
Clearly the class of the field as the 1-9 favorite, Adare Manor ran like it. The Michael Lund Petersen colorbearer broke from the rail, hustled to the front under her own power, and was unbothered by early pressure from Micro Share (Upstart), last-out winner of Del Mar's Tranquility Lake S. Sept. 4. Jockey Juan Hernandez could not have looked more comfortable on board the eventual winner–like he was out for a Sunday afternoon stroll–as the two edged clear for a :23.71 first quarter. Moving easily with her ears flicking back and forth as her three rivals lined up behind her and left her completely alone on the lead, Adare Manor clicked off a half in :47.91 and three-quarters in 1:11.96. Hernandez peered over his left shoulder leaving the turn and was so satisfied with his filly's position that he sat still as a stone down the lane, then eased up his mount at the wire. Last year's GII Santa Anita Oaks winner Desert Dawn (Cupid) followed her home, just as she did in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. Aug. 5. Desert Dawn was 6 1/4 lengths in front of Micro Share, while Window Shopping (American Pharoah), the only 3-year-old in the field and winner of the GII Summertime Oaks in June, was fourth.
“Today all the credit goes to my filly, to Bob [Baffert], and his team. They brought her ready,” said Hernandez. “She broke a little slow the last couple of times, but today she broke on her own, I didn't even have to push her. She was just galloping around on the lead and I didn't do much today.”
In addition to the aforementioned Clement Hirsch, Adare Manor's streak also includes the GII Santa Margarita S. and the GII Santa Maria S. She is five for six on the year, following up a 2022 which included a victory in the GIII Las Virgenes S. and runner-up finishes in both the GII Santa Anita Oaks and the GII Black-Eyed Susan S.
Baffert enthused after the Zenyatta: “She just keeps improving and we wanted to see something like this to see if we were going to take a crack at the Breeders' Cup [Distaff]. So I think if she comes out of it well, we will go for it.”
🏆#1 ADARE MANOR ($2.20) wires the G2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita for her fifth consecutive victory.
The G1-winning daughter of @coolmoreamerica's Uncle Mo was ridden by @JJHernandezS19 for trainer Bob Baffert and Michael Lund Petersen. pic.twitter.com/EZljJtPGQM
— TVG (@TVG) October 1, 2023
Pedigree Notes:
Coolmore America's Uncle Mo, currently ranked a strong second on the 2023 leading sires list, is the sire of Adare Manor and another dozen black-type winners of this year bred in the Northern Hemisphere, including recent GI Pacific Classic winner Arabian Knight. With his ninth crop of 2-year-olds now at the track, Uncle Mo has 95 stakes winners, 48 of which are graded. Adare Manor is the only one of Uncle Mo's stakes winners out of a Giant Gizmo mare, but he does have three out of daughters of Giant's Causeway, sire of Giant Gizmo. Giant Gizmo was last reported to be standing in Panama. Adare Manor is the only black-type winner out of one of his daughters.
Winner of the 2016 GIII Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare S. at Keeneland, Brooklynsway has produced Adare Manor and an unraced 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief. Her yearling, a Ghostzapper filly already named Nosleeptilbrooklyn, was a $500,000 purchase by Boardshorts Stables on the first day of Book 2 at the recent Keeneland September sale. The mare delivered a full-brother to Adare Manor Mar. 24. She was bred back to Tapit.
Sunday, Santa Anita Park
ZENYATTA S.-GII, $196,000, Santa Anita, 10-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.70, gd.
1–ADARE MANOR, 126, f, 4, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Brooklynsway (GSW-USA, MSW & GSP-Can, $724,597), by Giant Gizmo
2nd Dam: Explosive Story, by Radio Star
3rd Dam: Maya's Note, by Editor's Note
($180,000 Ylg '20 FTKFEB; $190,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $375,000 2yo '21 OBSOPN). O-Michael Lund Petersen; B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC & Gary Broad (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $120,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 13-7-4-0, $981,600. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Desert Dawn, 122, f, 4, Cupid–Ashley's Glory, by Honour and Glory. ($32,000 RNA Ylg '20 OBSOCT). O/B-H & E Ranch (AZ); T-Philip D'Amato. $40,000.
3–Micro Share, 122, f, 4, Upstart–Who'sbeeninmybed, by The Daddy. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($10,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $125,000 Ylg '20 OBSOCT; $450,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $24,000.
Margins: 5 1/4, 6 1/4, 22 1/4. Odds: 0.10, 5.40, 6.70. Also Ran: Window Shopping.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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