Bellafina works five furlongs for Santa Anita Oaks

ARCADIA, Calif. - Over the weekend, jockey Flavien Prat was nearly everywhere Thoroughbreds race and train in California at this time of year.

Prat was winless Saturday with two mounts at Golden Gate Fields, his first rides since he was in action at Oaklawn Park on March 16. On Sunday, Prat worked two multiple stakes winners in a little more than an hour at two tracks in Southern California.

Prat worked the filly Bellafina at Santa Anita at approximately 6:30 a.m., and Galilean at Los Alamitos, about 30 miles away, at about 7:45 a.m.

Bellafina worked five furlongs in a slow 1:04.60 for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on April 6. Galilean, third in a division of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 16, worked a half-mile in 47.80 seconds for a start in coming weeks.

Bellafina, who will be a heavy favorite in the Santa Anita Oaks, worked alone just as the sun was rising, which trainer Simon Callaghan said hampered his visibility. He timed Bellafina in 1:01, but said he mistimed the start.

The final time was a contrast to Bellafina’s workout on March 18, when she went five furlongs in 59.20 seconds.

“We wanted to get a slower easy breeze,” he said after the workout at his stable.

“She was walking around here like it was nothing.”

Prat said he deliberately did not ask Bellafina to be quick early in an effort to avoid linking with horses who started workouts several lengths in front.

“She went easy,” he said. “She was happy.

“I broke off slow. I had horses in front of me. From the half-mile pole, I went a good pace.”

Owned by Kaleem Shah, Bellafina won her fifth graded stakes in the Grade 2 Las Virgenes Stakes at a mile on Feb. 9.

“She’s had a good path,” Callaghan said. “After her last race, we let her down and picked it up in terms of training. She’s got a good foundation.”

Galilean, who won the California Cup Derby at Santa Anita in February, was third in the first division of the Rebel Stakes, finishing 2 1/2 lengths behind Long Range Toddy. Typical of a runner trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Galilean was back to workouts in a little more than a week after the race.

“I thought he went okay,” Prat said. “It was his first work after the race.”

Hollendorfer has not announced plans for Galilean’s next start, though races such as the Santa Anita Derby on April 6 and the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on April 13 are part of the discussion.

Prat had the rest of Sunday off, but not by his wishes. Santa Anita suspended racing in early March to investigate a series of equine fatalities and plans to resume racing on Friday. There has been no racing since March 3.

Prat will not ride at Santa Anita until April 4. He is booked to ride the Dubai World Cup program in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday and will travel there on Wednesday. He said he is looking forward to the resumption of racing at Santa Anita.

“I’m more than relaxed,” he said.