Bellafina hits restart button in Desert Stormer Stakes

Bellafina had a rough start to 2020, finishing a troubled fourth as the 7-5 favorite in the Carousel Stakes for fillies and mares at Oaklawn Park last month.

“Nothing went right,” trainer Simon Callaghan recalled Thursday. “I think it’s a race to draw a line through.”

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

From Callaghan’s perspective, Bellafina’s season starts in Sunday’s Grade 3 Desert Stormer Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs at Santa Anita. Judging from her form in the final months of 2019, Bellafina has every chance to win her seventh stakes in the $100,000 Desert Stormer Stakes.

Bellafina finished second by three-quarters of a length to Covfefe in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita in November, and was second to Hard Not to Love in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies there in December. Hard Not to Love later won the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes in February.

Bellafina was beaten 10 lengths by winner Mia Mischief in the Carousel Stakes. Starting from the rail, Bellafina was away slowly and rallied four wide into a quick pace to be as close as third on the turn. She faded from contention through the stretch.

Since the Carousel on April 25, Bellafina has worked once at Santa Anita, going a half-mile in a quick 46.80 seconds last Sunday. Flavien Prat worked Bellafina that morning and has the mount Sunday.

Jockeys recently resumed working horses at Santa Anita, meeting the runners in the walking ring and taking them back to the walking ring after the exercise. Jockeys are not allowed in the stable area at Santa Anita during the coronavirus outbreak, a policy enacted by management in late March.

Prat knows Bellafina, having ridden her in 12 of her 14 races, including all of her stakes wins. He has not ridden her since the BC Filly and Mare Sprint.

Bellafina is part of a field of eight in the Desert Stormer, the lone stakes on a 10-race program. The talented field includes four other stakes winners – Artistic Diva, Fighting Mad, Mother Mother, and Tomlin – and First Star, who is stakes-placed. Amuse and Hang a Star are the other runners.

Bellafina has raced well from a stalking position and should have pace to follow from Artistic Diva, who has not raced since a fifth-place finish in the Spring Fever Stakes for fillies and mares at 5 1/2 furlongs on Feb. 29.

Fighting Mad has shown speed. Trained by Bob Baffert, Fighting Mad won the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile by an electrifying eight lengths at Del Mar last August in her most recent start.

“She had a little issue and she wasn’t right,” Baffert said of the layoff.

Fighting Mad has worked well for her comeback. She won an allowance race at six furlongs at Churchill Downs in April 2019, but may be better suited for a longer race, Baffert said.

“It’s a little short for her,” he said. “She’s been ready to run. I might give her a race and stretch her out.”

Mother Mother, who was second to Hard Not to Love in the Santa Monica Stakes for Baffert, won the Kalookan Queen Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs in January at 2-5. A repeat of that performance would make her very competitive in the Desert Stormer.