Becca Taylor passes class test in Desert Stormer

ARCADIA, Calif. – It still surprises owner and breeder Nick Alexander that his 4-year-old filly Becca Taylor is not unbeaten after nine starts.

Running in her first graded stakes, Becca Taylor won Saturday’s Grade 3 Desert Stormer Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs at Santa Anita, her first start here since a nose loss in the Irish O’Brien Stakes on the hillside turf course in March.

“I’d like to see the photo,” Alexander said with a smile.

Becca Taylor, trained by Steve Miyadi, won her third stakes in the $98,000 Desert Stormer. The 3-5 favorite ridden by leading jockey Juan Hernandez, Becca Taylor was always near the front and pulled clear to win by 2 1/2 lengths.

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“We had the leading rider, the outside post, and I was still nervous,” Alexander said. “Juan said he had a lot of horse on the backstretch.”

Becca Taylor is likely to start in the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos on July 4, Alexander said. The race may offer a more difficult test for Becca Taylor, though the division is not as strong as it could be.

Ce Ce, the champion female sprinter of 2021, is based at Santa Anita with trainer Michael McCarthy, but is scheduled to have her next start in the Grade 2 Princess Rooney Stakes, a $250,000 race at seven furlongs for fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park on July 2.

Becca Taylor has raced against California-breds in six of her nine starts. She has earned $379,160.

“We have been pretty cautious moving her along,” Alexander said. “There were some races when there wasn’t much behind her. This was definitely her most competitive race.”