Blame represented by first winner at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. - Blame, the champion older male of 2010 and the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year, was represented by his first winner on Thursday when the 2-year-old filly Caval scored an impressive victory in a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita.

Ridden by Elvis Trujillo, Caval disputed the lead before pulling away to outfinish runner-up Haleys Rainbow by 5 1-2 lengths. Caval was timed in 56.78 seconds, just shy of the 2011 track record of 56.73 seconds set by the 3-year-old Klassy Saint.

Blame, 8, stands for an advertised fee of $30,000 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky. He was bred to approximately 108 mares this year, according to Claiborne stallion manager Bernie Sams.

“You always hope that some will win early,” Sams said Thursday afternoon. “That was very good.”

Caval races for J.W. Singer and is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. The filly was purchased for $150,000 at the 2013 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Caval is out of the Storm Cat mare Sultana, and is a half-sister to Derbaas, an active 8-year-old who has won 8 of 44 starts and $505,347. Derbaas won the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort in Dubai in 2011.

Caval faced only three rivals.

Caval was Blame’s third starter. The filly is likely to resurface in the $100,000 Cinderella Stakes over six furlongs at Los Alamitos on July 13, Hollendorfer said.Hollendorfer is also planning to start Heart of Paradise, a maiden race winner on June 5, in the Cinderella.

Hollendorfer said that he considered waiting for the Del Mar meeting with Caval but opted to start the filly on Thursday because of her recent progress.

“We thought she had some talent,” he said. “It was a short field. We have a lot more proving to do.”