Ascendancy returns for repeat bid in She's a Tiger

Ascendancy has seemingly been everywhere in the 12 months since she won her first stakes in the She’s a Tiger Stakes at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton last June.

The 5-year-old mare has raced at six tracks in as many starts. The highlights were a win in the Luther Burbank Stakes at Santa Rosa last August and a third in the Grade 3 Wilshire Stakes at Santa Anita in April.

Ascendancy is back at Pleasanton for Saturday’s $50,000 She’s a Tiger Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles after an unsuccessful and ambitious campaign at Eastern tracks in May.

Ascendancy was sixth of 10 in the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs on the undercard of the Kentucky Derby and last of five in the Grade 3 Gallorette Stakes on turf at Pimlico on the undercard of the Preakness Stakes.

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“In her last race, she didn’t like the turf,” trainer O.J. Jauregui said on Thursday. “It was raining early that day. It was long grass and wet. You can throw that race out.”

The She’s a Tiger is a much easier assignment for Ascendancy, who races for Jauregui, Dan Barrett, David Crossley, David Foran, Daniel Preiss, Angel Valadez, and Graham Witherall.

Ascendancy is the only stakes winner in a field of five that includes the Santa Anita shipper Liberal Lady, the stakes-placed Delusively, recent allowance winner Princesa Del Tigre, and the former $8,000 claimer Bold Daughter.

Ascendancy has been back in Northern California long enough for three fast workouts this month, including a half-mile in 48 seconds at Pleasanton on June 16, the quickest of the morning at the distance.

“She’s back to normal,” Jauregui said. “I try not to go that fast, but she does it really handily.”

In the She’s a Tiger, Ascendancy is likely to race as a stalker behind Liberal Lady, who drew the inside post for her Northern California debut.

Liberal Lady, trained by Leonard Powell, won an allowance race at a mile in her 2024 debut at Santa Anita in February, but has lost her two most recent starts – a last-place finish of seven in the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes in April and a fifth-place finish in a one-mile allowance race on turf on June 9, her lone start on that surface.

Liberal Lady gives Jauregui a slight concern.

“She’s going to get that easy lead,” he said.

The She’s a Tiger Stakes is the stakes debut for Princesa Del Tigre, who races as a stalker and can be in contention in the final furlong.

Ascendancy showed a sharp rally from off the pace when she won the She’s a Tiger and Luther Burbank stakes in 2023. Alexander Chavez was aboard for those wins and rides Ascendancy again on Saturday. Jauregui expects a similar strategy.

“If she does what I think she’ll do, I think we’ll be okay,” Jauregui said.

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