Angel Nadeshiko steals Robert J. Frankel Stakes with gate-to-wire move

ARCADIA, Calif. – A change in strategy from her recent starts put Angel Nadeshiko in the winner’s circle of a stakes for the first time at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Allowed to set a slow pace in the Grade 3 Robert Frankel Stakes for fillies and mares, Angel Nadeshiko sustained her advantage, holding off 8-5 favorite Lakota Spirit to win by three-quarters of a length.

Winning jockey Antonio Fresu rode Angel Nadeshiko for the first time in the $100,500 Frankel at 1 1/8 miles on a good turf course. Fresu had studied the 4-year-old filly’s form, noticing that she had won twice on dirt previously while leading or disputing the pace.

The second-longest price in a field of six, Angel Nadeshiko ($39.80) was timed in 1:50.69 on a course soaked by early morning rain. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 82, a career-best.

Angel Nadeshiko’s chances in the Frankel were helped by early fractions of 25.67 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, and 51.16 for a half-mile.

“She used to run well on the front,” Fresu said. “She didn’t seem to mind it on the grass.”

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“We were going very slow,” Fresu said. “She loved it and no one took me on. I tried to do my job on the front.”

Lakota Spirit, who was favored after a win in an allowance race at a mile on turf at Del Mar in November, was always near the front under jockey Juan Hernandez.

“The winner got away from me,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said that essentially Fresu stole the race when he urged Angel Nadeshiko on the turn, a move that put the leader in front by two lengths with a furlong remaining.

“On the turn, he picked it up right away and I needed a couple of strides to get going,” Hernandez said.

Oakhurst (2-1) finished third, followed by Yerwanthere, Rebel Girl, and Luminiferous.

Angel Nadeshiko, a 4-year-old filly by Carpe Diem, races for US Equine and trainer Paddy Gallagher. The Frankel was her third win in her 16th start. She has earned $227,780.

The Frankel was Angel Nadeshiko’s first win on turf in her sixth start on the surface, and her first start since a fifth in a field of seven in the Dark Mirage Stakes at Los Alamitos in September. In several recent races, Angel Nadeshiko raced from off the pace, but failed to make an impression in the stretch.

“We have experimented with her before, taking her back,” Gallagher said. “I have been lucky enough to have jockeys that would try to experiment and see what she liked.

“We decided to go ahead, and they left her alone long enough, so we are very happy.”

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