New Rising Star at Santa Anita for Quality Road

Baoma Corp.'s Ganadora (Quality Road), installed the 6-5 choice in this first go, slugged it out early with So It Would Seem (Honor Code), but was peerless in the stretch, running away to win by an impressive 6 1/2-length margin over 2-1 second choice Lady T (Into Mischief). Mixing it up through a sharp opening pace in :21.58 and :44.74, the $1-million KEESEP buy kicked clear turning for home and proved much the best late to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors. So It Would Seem faded to second last. Ganadora is the 11th 'Rising Star' for her sire Quality Road and the fifth for that stallion hailing from the Bob Baffert barn. Three of the previous four Baffert-trained Quality Road 'Rising Stars', Corniche, Roadster and Klimt, have gone on to be Grade I winners.

The filly is out of Grade III-placed Beloveda (Ghostzapper), who began her racing career in Poland before being imported to the States. Gainesway originally secured the mare in partnership with Michael Hernon for $205,000 at the 2013 FTKFEB sale. Her 2016 Scat Daddy filly, SP Mistress of Love, summoned $1-million at KEESEP and her 2018 filly Hana Road (Quality Road) was a $450,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad before Ganadora gave the mare her second seven-figure sale. Gainesway bought out Hernon at the 2021 FTKFEB sale, where the mare hammered for $510,000. Beloveda is also responsible for a juvenile filly by Empire Maker and a yearling filly by Street Sense. She was bred back to Nyquist.

6th-Santa Anita, $69,912, Msw, 2-26, 3yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.15, ft, 6 1/2 lengths.
GANADORA, f, 3, Quality Road
1st Dam: Beloveda {GSP, $244,926}, by Ghostzapper)
2nd Dam: Mysterious Angel, by Saint Ballado
3rd Dam: Orange Sickle, by Rich Cream  
$1,000,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $40,200.
O-Baoma Corporation; B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd, Brian Graves & Michael E. Hernon (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.