TDN RISING STARS

May 5, 2018 - Santa Anita, Race 3, Msw, USD $54,000, 6F

Amada Rafaela, f, 3, 2015 by Distorted Humor

1st Dam: Dust and Diamonds (GSW & GISP, $496,260), by Vindication
2nd Dam: Majestically, by Gone West
3rd Dam: Darling Dame, by Lyphard

Owner: Three Chimneys Farm
Breeder: Three Chimneys Farm (KY)
Trainer: Bob Baffert

‘SPARKLING’ RISING STAR AT SANTA ANITA
Three Chimneys Farm may have parted ways with the up-and-coming graded-stakes winning mare Dust and Diamonds, but the farm made sure it retained something from the pipeline in form of Amada Rafaela (Distorted Humor), who bounded away to an embarrassingly easy debut victory at Santa Anita Saturday, thus becoming a ‘TDN Rising Star’ in the process. Showing a sharp local worktab, highlighted by a six-furlong gate move in 1:11 3/5 (1/5) Apr. 23, the homebred was sent off the 3-5 choice in this six-furlong affair. Narrowly headed by Tiz Toffee (Sidney’s Candy) and Hot Autumn (Tiz Wonderful) through a crisp opening quarter in :22.10, she surged ahead of those rivals through a half in :45.32. Ready to dispense of her rivals at will, she increased her lead from there, blowing the doors off late en route to an 8 1/4-length victory. Hot Autmn was runner-up, while Tiz Toffee rounded out the trifecta.
Dust and Diamonds, a $900,000 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed purchase in 2012, won a trio of stakes in 2012, including the GII Gallant Bloom H. and GIII Sugar Swirl S. and finished runner-up in that season’s GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Retired to the breeding shed in 2013 with earnings of $496,260, Dust and Diamonds foaled Leggalini (Hard Spun) in 2014 followed by Amada Rafaela the following year. In 2016, both Dust and Diamonds and her Pioneerof the Nile colt were offered at the Keeneland November sale: the former was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for $1-million while her dark bay colt brought $600,000. The 10-year-old mare produced a filly by Pioneerof the Nile last term.