Baffert fillies look to rebound in Dark Mirage Stakes
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Finding the winner of the $100,000 Dark Mirage Stakes on Saturday at Los Alamitos requires bettors to apply at least two key elements to the filly-mare dirt mile – basic handicapping and a large dose of forgiveness.
The handicapping is straightforward. The challenge is to forgive top contenders for subpar performances last out. Nothing Like You, a Grade 2 winner, finished third by more than 10 lengths. Ooty, a Group 1 winner in Argentina, finished last by 31 in the same race.
Bob Baffert trains both fillies and acknowledged uncertainty regarding form cycles into the Dark Mirage.
“Nothing Like You, I’m trying to get her back in form,” he said. “Sometimes they need a softer spot for the light to go on.”
Nothing Like You found a softer spot in the Dark Mirage, race 9 on Saturday. A three-time stakes winner, including the Grade 2 Starlet at Los Alamitos in 2023, horse-for-course Nothing Like You could go favored in the Dark Mirage, which would be her third start after an extended layoff.
Ooty also is problematic. Runner-up in her U.S. debut in July, she regressed in the Tranquility Lake Stakes. Ooty finished last of six.
“She was just flat,” Baffert said. “I don’t know why, she just didn’t run.”
Baffert speculates Ooty bounced off her comeback.
“Sometimes they come from the Southern Hemisphere, their first race might be good, but it takes them a while to get” acclimated, Baffert said. “Hopefully, that was it. She came back and worked the other day and looked good.”
Nothing Like You and Ooty top the six-runner Dark Mirage. Others include late-runner Sakura Blossom, potential pacesetter Getthemoney, and outsiders Visually and Double Cappuccino.
Juan Hernandez rides Nothing Like You, and though the filly’s form is murky, her trainer-jockey combo is crystal clear. The past five years at Los Alamitos, Hernandez and Baffert teamed to win at a 60 percent rate, 28 of 47. Ooty will be ridden by Kazushi Kimura.
Getthemoney could set the pace from the inside post as she stretches out from a last-place sprint comeback. Getthemoney finished last in her only previous route. Sakura Blossom, a late-runner who usually runs on turf, has three career wins, all on dirt.
Nothing Like You is nominated to the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes on Sept. 28 at Santa Anita, but Baffert has four others nominated to the Zenyatta. Cavalieri is definite, pending a workout this weekend. Three other Zenyatta nominees whose next start is to be determined are Richi, Seismic Beauty, and Splendora.
The $100,000 Dark Mirage is the richest race of the two-week September daytime meet at Los Alamitos. Sunday is closing day; Santa Anita’s opening day is Friday, Sept. 26.
While the relevance of the Dark Mirage is unclear, a pair of 2-year-old maiden sprints Saturday could prove significant. Race 1, for fillies, includes the debut of fast-working Meaning, a Gun Runner filly trained by Michael McCarthy.
Race 4 is open to colts and geldings. McCarthy-trained Bust Out, a colt by Complexity, meets Doug O’Neill-trained Migo. Both 2-year-old maiden races Saturday are at 6 1/2 furlongs.
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