Hronis Racing's Stellar Wind (Curlin) has had nothing short of an exceptional season. The chestnut took both the GII Santa Ysabel S. Feb. 28 and GI Santa Anita Oaks Apr. 4 going 1 1/16 miles in Arcadia. She closed decisively to finish fourth as the favorite behind Lovely Maria (Majesticperfection) when stretching out to 1 1/8 miles in the GI Kentucky Oaks May 1 and was given almost a two-month break after that run. She returned with a nose victory in the GII Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita June 20 and has been on the bench since.
Away without incident as the 1-2 chalk, the chestnut tracked the pace set by Ultimate Holiday (Harlan's Holiday) through a half-mile in :46.43 and moved closer to turn up the pressure approaching the far turn. Seizing control on the bend, she opened up a sizeable advantage and reported 4/14 lengths clear of Big Book (Mr. Big) under minimal urging. “She's classy; she showed that,” said pilot Victor Espinoza. “And I changed her style a little bit today. I wanted to keep my position going into that first turn, so I moved her up with the speed. And she was comfortable there. So I said: 'OK, let's just keep doing this.' She responded well and won like we hoped she would.”
“We're happy,” trainer John Sadler said after the victory. “I came with the idea of having one race down here so she'll have a big fall. We've got some big races ahead this fall, probably one prep before the Breeders' Cup. It could be the [GI] Zenyatta [S. Sept. 26] at Santa Anita. But this is a nice stepping off point. If we go east, we'll stay east. We'll keep a check on the older mares (with a wink toward Beholder's barn), look at the scoreboard and see what's up. She's won four graded stakes this year and is undefeated in California, so we're really happy with her.”
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