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ARCADIA, Calif.- Nationwide, Love and Pride is demanding attention in the older female division.
In Saturday’s $250,000 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita, Love and Pride led throughout the race over 1 1/16 miles to win her second consecutive Grade 1. She won her first career Grade 1 race in the Personal Ensign Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 26.
The two wins make Love and Pride a contender for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic here on Nov. 2. Her win in the Zenyatta Stakes earned Love and Pride a fees-paid berth to the Ladies’ Classic through the Breeders’ Cup’s Win and You’re In program.
Ridden by Martin Garcia, Love and Pride set a modest pace of 23.98 and48.47 seconds, led by a length on the backstretch and won by 3 1/4 lengths over 7-1 Joyful Victory. Include Me Out closed from seventh to finish third. Amani, the 2-1 favorite, was eighth early in the field of nine and finished fifth.
Love and Pride ($10.20) was expected to set the pace, according to Michael McCarthy, trainer Todd Pletcher’s assistant.
“The track has been a little speed-favoring yesterday and today,” McCarthy said. “Her races have been better when she prompts the race or has been close to it.
“She had enough to get the job done. When she gets a chance to settle into her rhythm, she can run her races.”
Owned by Green Hills Farm, Love and Pride, by A.P. Indy, has won 7 of16 starts and $925,760.
Love and Pride has won four stakes this year, including the Grade 3 Obeah at Delaware Park on June 16.
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This race really exposed what I had thought all year, that the distaff division in Cali is weak. And I live in SoCal.
The fact that Love and Pride won the Zenyatta is, by itself, not an indictment of the Cali females given she just beat Royal Delta in the Personal Ensign. For me, more damaging was the fact that Joyful Victory ran 2nd.
Love and Pride ran well in the Zenyatta, and should get a Beyer in the 100/101 range. However, others are correct that the level of competition and the pace scenario will be much more challenging for her in the Ladies Classic.
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Coming around nicely, but I doubt she can beat the outstanding bunch of fillies that we have this year in the BC, I still strongly object to this race being renamed the Zenyatta. Lady's Secret was also a great mare and a HOY and deserves more respect than this. There are plenty of races in California with meaningless names (the Vanity, the Santa Margarita, etc.) that they could have renamed instead of insulting one of the great ones.
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Martin Garcia did a great job of stealing this race in a paceless field much like the Personal Ensign, she won't have such an easy trip come ladies Classic time and will find the waters much deeper next time.
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It is always interesting to read the comments hear "after" reading the article. It is obvious. some here have done just that, and have good good things to add. While others here have convinced themselves that they might get"discovered" as a writer for DRF.
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Love & Pride sure looked like a champion today, in every way. And she was able to ration her energy in the middle part of the race which ensured she'd have enough left to respond with determination when asked in the upper stretch. She beat some nice fillies today, and paid a generous 4-1. Good fun!
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Nice performance for sure by Love and Pride. Took to the track well, and looked powerful in the lane. Only downside, in my opinion anyway, is she got a very easy lead and left them all behind. That more than likely will not happen in the Distaff.
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this was a step down from the Personal Ensign, Love and Pride was a stand out.
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I knew this horses was going to win. No speed in the race on a track the favors speed. Easy recipe and she beat some very good horses in Royal Delta and Its Tricky in her last race. She's getting good at the right time and if they let her run along like this in the breeders cup she will be tough to beat again. But she has a slew of top fillies and mares to do it against in Questing and MMA so its gonna be a great ladies classic. Great ride by Martin he does very good with horses on the front end. I wonder if Pletcher will keep him on her
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Love and Pride won a commanding victory in the Zenyatta. She gave a strong, gutty performance, and was given an excellent ride by Martin Garcia. She made swift work of winning this race. She took off and never really looked back. Joyful Victory ran a big race herself, she was in contention the entire way around the track and reached down and outrushed Include Me Out to the wire for the place. Joyful Victory made a very game showing for herself. Love and Pride paid a very nice price to win and the Exacta was a good one as well. Congratulations to all those that had the winner and the exotics, and congratulations to Love and Pride and her connections on a fine win. On to the BC Ladies' Classic which has one more excellent horse who has a fine chance on winning it all.
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CHASING MOONLIGHT was involved in a three-way skirmish for the lead and saved the place behind win machine Rigby ($2.70), matching his career top Beyer first time off the claim; this appears to be a much easier pace scenario assuming another alert break from the rail. The 9-year-old TEMECULA CREEK shook out the kinks to win big second time back from a short layoff, notching best number since last summer; David Jacobson 29% with 1-7 day wheelbacks in 2012-13. OVEREXTENDED clearly out of his element on grass in first start for current connections; mild rally behind 3-for-3 Hay Shares two back.
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