Adare Manor proves she's the best of the West in Santa Margarita.

Adare Manor affirmed her status as top older dirt female in California by scoring a decisive victory over an overmatched field in the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita.

Heavily favored in a field of five, Adare Manor ($2.60) led gate to wire in the mile and one-eighth race, winning by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:49.79. Kirstenbosch finished second, Desert Dawn finished third. Smoothlikebuttah and Tiz a Macho Girl completed the order of finish.

Juan Hernandez rode Adare Manor for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Michael Lund Peterson. Except for token pace pressure from Desert Dawn, Adare Manor was never seriously threatened.

“She’s really, really smooth,” Hernandez said.

Adare Manor is particularly smooth when she controls the pace, which she has in all three recent front-running wins, including the Grade 2 Santa Maria in her previous start. The Santa Margarita was her first win at a mile and one-eighth, over the same surface and at the same distance that the Breeders’ Cup Distaff will be contested later this year.

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On paper, Adare Manor appeared to be the controlling speed in the Santa Margarita, and the race unfolded accordingly. She broke on top, Desert Dawn pressed her briefly inside, and again from the outside on the backstretch, but Adare Manor was always traveling easily.

The half-mile time was 48.47. She broke open the race nearing the quarter pole after six furlongs in 1:12.12. As track announcer Frank Mirahmadi accurately stated in his race call, “It’s a public workout for Adare Manor.”

Kirstenbosch chased from third position, and went past Desert Dawn in the stretch. Desert Dawn, who tried to run with Adare Manor on the backstretch, flattened out.

Adare Manor, a 4-year-old filly by Uncle Mo, has won five of 11 starts, including three graded stakes, and is expected to continue her 2023 campaign in California.

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The circuit’s next dirt-route stakes for fillies and mares is the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on Aug. 5 at Del Mar. The $400,000 Hirsch is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

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