Adare Manor dominated the four-horse GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita Sunday, strolling home to an effortless 13-length victory and giving trainer Bob Baffert his sixth win in the race. Second and fourth in two sprint tries to kick off her career, the $375,000 OBS June acquisition put it all together and then some when airing by a dozen lengths over this track and trip Jan. 7, good for a 92 Beyer Speed Figure. Her odds dropped even further with the scratch of GISW stablemate Eda (Munnings), and the dark bay was off at prohibitive 2-5 odds. Away on top, she was headed by Gracelund Gray (Goldencents) into the first turn, but was content to share pacesetting duties with that foe down the backside before opening up into a :46.66 half. Queen of Thorns attempted to make a race of it from there, but Adare Manor never looked back and galloped home.
“Today I engaged her right from the gate and she got a little bit strong at the first turn, so I had to grab her a little bit, try to slow her down a bit the first part of the race,” said winning jockey John Velazquez. “Once we got to the half-mile pole, I kind of put my hands down on her and her long stride just kept going just like that. I just left her alone and let her get into her rhythm, and she just showed up today. Obviously, she stepped it up from one race to another one and she did it very nicely today.
Velazquez continued, “I looked back a couple of times and I slowed it down, I looked up saw they were pretty far [back] and I backed up thinking, I should save something here although she was breathing fire up front, I didn't want to ask her down the lane then Bob would get mad at me. I definitely wanted to save something.”
The dazzling victory would normally make Adare Manor a major GI Longines Kentucky Oaks contender, but Baffert's current Churchill ban made the filly ineligible to earn the Las Virgenes' 10 qualifying points to that Classic.
Baffert's sixth Las Virgenes tally broke a tie with fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. The trainer's most recent previous Las Virgenes winner (in 2018) was also a pricey 2-year-old sales grad by Uncle Mo in Dream Tree.
Adare Manor, bred by Town and Country Horse Farms and Gary Broad, was purchased by Broad for $180,000 as a short yearling at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale. She RNA'd for $190,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase that September before selling for $375,000 following a :10 1/5 work at last year's OBS June sale.
She missed by just a neck when second after contesting the pace in her six-furlong unveiling Oct. 31 at Santa Anita. She was fourth over 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar Nov. 20 before her eye-catching 12-length maiden score over one mile in Arcadia Jan. 7.
“She duplicated her last race, you know, she's got that big, long stride on her,” said Baffert. “I sprinted her twice and I thought she'd win each of those times and then I thought, well she wants to go long…She's like an amazon, she's got that big, powerful [way of moving]. She's got that big frame, but she's quick. She relaxed nicely today…I think that time [1:37.11] is pretty serious on this track. Just gotta keep 'em healthy. I've run her twice now, I don't want to come back too quick with her.”
Pedigree Notes:
Adare Manor is the first foal out of multiple stakes winner Brooklynsway, who was four times graded placed. Town and Country Horse Farms purchased the mare, in foal to Into Mischief, for $95,000 at the same 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale at which Adare Manor sold. That in-utero Into Mischief foal died, but the 10-year-old mare has a yearling filly by the Spendthrift stallion and she was bred back to Ghostzapper.
Adare Manor is the 42nd graded winner for Uncle Mo. In addition to Dream Tree, other daughters of the stallion who have found graded success at Santa Anita include multiple Grade I winner Bast, Harvest Moon, Mopotism, and Donna Veloce.
Sunday, Santa Anita
LAS VIRGENES S.-GIII, $196,000, Santa Anita, 2-6, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:37.11, ft.
1–ADARE MANOR, 120, f, 3, 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
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($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-John R.
Velazquez. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0, $176,600.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+.
2–Queen of Thorns, 120, f, 3, Violence–Royale Paradise, by
Unbridled's Song. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($50,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $300,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR).
O-Exline-Border Racing LLC, Richard Hausman, William Dan
Hudock, Aaron Kennedy & Susanna Wilson; B-Pollock Farms
(KY); T-Peter Eurton. $40,000.
3–Miss Everything, 120, f, 3, Tiznow–Wynning Is Sweet, by
Candy Ride (Arg). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($40,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $40,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Don't
Tell My Wife Stables & J. Keith Desormeaux; B-TNIP LLC &
Tiznow Syndicate (KY); T-J. Keith Desormeaux. $24,000.
Margins: 13, 1 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 2.50, 15.20.
Also Ran: Gracelund Gray. Scratched: Eda. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
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