Bell's the One seeks flight to California for La Brea

One hundred years ago, it was a challenge getting from New Orleans to Los Angeles, and even now, the connections of 3-year-old filly Bell’s the One are trying to figure out how to make the trip.

Trainer Neil Pessin and owner Bob Lothenbach would like to run Bell’s the One in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita, but the logistics of shipping to that race from Fair Grounds are proving challenging.

“We want to run in the La Brea, but that’s transportation pending. It’s a little tricky from here,” Pessin said earlier this week.

Pessin said he’s waiting to hear from Tex Sutton, the equine transport company, about flight options. Pessin talked to trainer Al Stall about how he shipped Bobby’s Wicked One from Fair Grounds to Santa Anita for the Malibu Stakes last December and found Stall had to ship his horse by van from New Orleans to Kentucky and fly from there. Pessin said he’s unwilling to take that route and won’t send Bell’s the One unless she can fly from New Orleans or some nearer city such as Houston. Shipping all the way by van is a 24- to 27-hour trip, also unappealing.

“I don’t know what we’d do with her if we don’t run there. There aren’t a lot of races for her otherwise,” Pessin said.

Bell’s the One won the first four starts of her career, including the Letellier and Lacombe stakes at Fair Grounds last winter. She was seventh in the Grade 1 Acorn on June 8, got the rest of the summer off, and returned with a distant second-place finish to Covfefe in the Dogwood Stakes at Churchill before winning the Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland.

Pessin brought her to Fair Grounds shortly after that start, and Bell’s the One has turned in a pair of bullet workouts since arriving in New Orleans.

“We haven’t been asking her to do it – she’s just a fast filly,” Pessin said.

Now, the trick is getting Bell’s the One to California in a timely fashion.