GII Starlet Stakes

Getting blinkers off following an uninspired third in her most recent start in the GII Oak Leaf at Santa Anita in October, Baoma Corp.'s Tenma (Nyquist) went to the front and never looked back, rolling to a confident victory in Saturday's GII Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos. Hustled to the front by the new-on-board Juan Hernandez, the 5-2 second choice quickly encountered Look Forward (Bolt d'Oro), a debut winner at Del Mar last month, who pressed her from the inside through an opening quarter in :23.41. With the pair continuing...

The Saturday graded stakes action across North America offers several options, but the Big A earns the spotlight as the venerable NYRA track plays host to some strong races. Even though the Cigar Mile Handicap was downgraded a tick from its top level status by the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2023, connections still consider the race to possess a certain cache and the rigor in this year's edition is evident. "It [Cigar Mile] came up pretty salty," said Book'em Danno's trainer Derek Ryan. "It is a Grade II now...

Four stakes for 2-year-olds--including a pair of graded races--highlight the upcoming Winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos. The six-day season is scheduled to begin Friday, Dec. 6 and continue through Sunday, Dec. 15. Racing will be conducted on a Friday-Sunday basis (Dec. 8-10 and 15-17) both weeks. Post time will be 12:30 p.m. The $200,000-guaranteed GII Starlet Stakes, for 2-year-old fillies, will be renewed for the 11th time at Los Alamitos Saturday, Dec. 7 one week before the $200,000-guaranteed GII Los Alamitos Futurity, which was captured by Wynstock in 2023. Won...

Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon) gave Hall of Famer Bob Baffert a seventh straight victory in the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Saturday evening. Drawn on the rail in the field of six, the last-out Desi Arnaz S. winner was sent to the front by Juan Hernandez and was pressed through an opening quarter in :23.24. She gained some separation through a half mile in :47.40, let it out a notch on the far turn and ran up the score in the stretch to win by 5 1/4 lengths...