Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum's Vale Dori (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg}), who had a perfect season stymied by a pair of memorable battles with champion Stellar Wind (Curlin) in Grade I races last summer, made it back to the winner's circle for the first time in over a year with a confident victory in the GI Zenyatta S. at Santa Anita Sunday as stablemate and 1-9 favorite Abel Tasman (Quality Road) never issued a serious rally and finished a dull fifth.
Dismissed at 11-1, Vale Dori shadowed pacesetting longshot Shenandoah Queen (Henny Hughes) while under a snug hold through moderate fractions of :23.98 and :48.02, while the flat-footed Abel Tasman trailed the field. Challenging for the front midway on the far turn, Vale Dori took over at the eighth pole and kicked away before holding sway from distant second favorite La Force (Ger) (Power {GB}) by a length on the wire, completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.88 and earning an automatic berth into the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.
“[Trainer] Bob [Baffert] said to try and get her out, whether she's first or second, and just get her into a real smooth rhythm,” said winning jockey Joe Talamo. “She was laying perfect right off of Tyler's filly there and I had a lot of horse around the turn. I was just biding my time, just waiting for anyone to come before I let her loose and when I did, she really took off very nicely. I really thought Abel Tasman was going to come running, but that's horse racing for you.”
Baffert said he had hoped the addition of blinkers would lead to a sharper start for Vale Dori.
“She'd been working well, but she hadn't been getting away from the gate, and if she doesn't get away well, she doesn't run well,” he said.
Despite winning the race, Baffert admitted he was concerned about the uncharacteristcally dull performance of champion Abel Tasman, who was coming off wins in the June 9 GI Ogden Phipps S. and Aug. 25 GI Personal Ensign S.
“I'm worried about that mare [Abel Tasman] because Mike [Smith] said she was lethargic, and she's up there where all these sick horse are, so I hope she's not getting sick,” Baffert said. “She was never interested today at all. I'm about as shocked as everybody else, but they'll do that.”
Smith added of the beaten favorite, “I'm just really not sure what happened with her today. I'm kind of at a loss for words. The good thing is that she didn't get-out run, she didn't run period. For whatever reason she was lethargic loading and she was slow into stride and never wanted to pick it up. There's been a bit of the flu going around the backside with some of these horses, so hopefully it's not hitting her, but it certainly could have. She kind of made a middle move down the backside to get herself into some sort of position to maybe make a run and I thought she could probably still win anyway. But then she just decided that was enough.”
Vale Dori was third behind Stellar Wind and Beholder (Henny Hughes) in the 2016 GI Zenyatta S. before embarking on a six-race win streak which included victories in last year's GII La Canada S., GII Santa Maria S. and GI Santa Margarita S.
The win streak ended with two dramatic neck losses to Stellar Wind in the GI Beholder Mile and GI Clement L Hirsch S. last summer. She returned from nine months on the sidelines to finish fifth in the May 6 GIII Adoration S. and was a well-beaten fourth behind Unique Bella (Tapit) in the June 2 Beholder Mile. She was returning to the graded ranks and adding blinkers Sunday after a third-place finish in the June 22 Santa Lucia S. and a distant runner-up effort in the Aug. 24 Tranquility Lake S.
Pedigree Notes:
Sheikh Khalifa also campaigned Vale Dori's sire Asiatic Boy to win the G2 UAE Derby in 2007 and Round 3 of the G2 Maktoum Challenge in 2009. He was also runner-up to Curlin in the 2008 G1 Dubai World Cup. Sent to Kiaran McLaughlin in the second half of 2009, he was runner-up in the GI Stephen Foster H. and in theGII Suburban H. in four appearances.
Vale Dori's third dam Valery Toss (Arg) (Egg Toss) produced Group 1 winners Vacacionada (Arg) (Southern Halo) and Valery Lady (Arg) (Roy).
Sunday, Santa Anita
ZENYATTA S.-GI, $300,345, Santa Anita, 9-30, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:44.88, ft.
1–VALE DORI (ARG), 123, m, 6, by Asiatic Boy (Arg)
1st Dam: Valerina (Arg), by Halo Sunshine
2nd Dam: Valereusse (Arg), by Equalize
3rd Dam: Valery Toss (Arg), by Egg Toss
O-Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum; B-Abolengo (ARG); T-Bob Baffert; J-Joseph Talamo. $180,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Arg, GSP-UAE, 21-10-6-2, $1,365,567. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”mersant-international”]2–La Force (Ger), 121, f, 4, by Power (GB)
1st Dam: La Miraculeuse (Ger), by Samum (Ger)
2nd Dam: L'Heure Bleue (Ire), by Kendor (Fr)
3rd Dam: Loire Princesse (Ire), by Tate Gallery
(€22,000 RNA Ylg '15 BBAGS). O-Williford, Roberta, Williford, Ward and Winner, Charles N.; B-Gestut Karlshof (GER); T-Patrick Gallagher. $60,000.[bullet ad=”german-horsepower”]3–Shenandoah Queen, 121, m, 6, by Henny Hughes
1st Dam: High Speed Goldie, by Parade Ground
2nd Dam: Gold Fleece, by Deputed Testamony
3rd Dam: Go Solo, by Riverman
($24,000 Ylg '13 OBSWIN; $95,000 RNA 2yo '14 OBSMAR). O-Hronis Racing LLC; B-Emerald Q Partners Inc., Richard S. Reed & Tiffany A. Zammit (KY); T-John W. Sadler. $36,000.[bullet ad=”best-a-luck-grad”]Margins: 3/4, 1 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 11.30, 5.40, 20.50.
Also Ran: Lemoona, Abel Tasman, Fool's Paradise.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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