Santa Anita: Bares Tripper to try turf in Surfer Girl Stakes

Benoit & Associates

Bares Tripper will make her turf debut in Monday’s $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Bares Tripper won her debut on a Polytrack surface at Del Mar. She won a stakes on a dirt track at Fairplex Park. A start on turf in Monday’s $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita is not a major issue for trainer Peter Miller.

“She should handle the turf,” Miller said. “I don’t see why she won’t handle it after she handled the synthetic. Some horses just run on anything, and I think she’s one of those.”

Bares Tripper’s only blemish was her stakes debut, an eighth-place finish in the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 8. The race was two weeks after her first career start in an $80,000 claimer for maidens July 25. Bares Tripper has had 23 days to recover from her win in the Barretts Debutante Stakes at Fairplex Park on Sept. 15.

“The Sorrento was my fault,” Miller said. “I ran her back too quick off a good debut. That was trainer error. This race is 23 days later, and she acts like she’s fully recovered.”

The Surfer Girl Stakes is run over a mile and will be the first race at that distance for Bares Tripper. The Surfer Girl Stakes is one of two $100,000 races for 2-year-olds on turf Monday. The day’s third race is the Zuma Beach Stakes, which has attracted six colts and geldings.

The races are designed as preps for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Juvenile Turf here Nov. 2-3. Miller stopped short of committing Bares Tripper to a Breeders’ Cup start Friday. He disagrees with the Breeders’ Cup policy of banning the bleeder medication Lasix this year.

“My inclination is to not run any 2-year-olds in the Breeders’ Cup,” Miller said.

Regarding Bares Tripper, Miller said a final decision on the Breeders’ Cup will be made after discussing options with owners David Lanzman and Jason Wood.

In the Surfer Girl, Bares Tripper faces four fillies who were unplaced in the Oak Tree Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Sept. 3. Upbeat Mood was fifth in that race, beaten a length.

“She stumbled badly, and it put her in a bad spot,” trainer Mike Puype said. “She closed and got beat a length.

“I think she’ll run better in this race. On dirt or synthetic, she’s just a horse. On the grass, she’s far much better. She’ll be going out for the front. To beat her, they’ll have to catch her.”

Zuma Beach: Den’s Legacy tries turf

The Zuma Beach field lacks a stakes winner or stakes-placed runner.

Buckleberry Grey was fourth in the Oak Tree Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on Sept. 5, but returned to finish a well-beaten sixth in a maiden race Sept. 29. Den’s Legacy was fifth in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes here Sept. 29 and makes his turf debut in the Zuma Beach.

There will be strong support for Gervinho, a colt by Unusual Heat.

Trained by Carla Gaines for the California Horse Racing Board’s chairman, Keith Brackpool, Gervinho won his debut in a maiden race over 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Sept. 3. Leading rider Rafael Bejarano had the mount that day and rides Gervinho on Monday.