Desert Dawn clearly class of the Santa Maria

ARCADIA, Calif. – A class drop and favorable pace scenario should benefit Desert Dawn on Sunday at Santa Anita when she enters the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes as the most likely winner on the card.

It also helps, of course, that the Santa Maria field does not include Desert Dawn’s nemesis Adare Manor. California’s top dirt female, Adare Manor crushed the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap last week at Oaklawn Park, leaving Desert Dawn as a borderline standout Sunday at Santa Anita.

Eight entered the $200,000 Santa Maria, which goes as race 9, and turf sprinters led by First Peace contest the $100,000 Siren Lure. Like the Santa Maria without Adare Manor, the Siren Lure is absent a local leader. Motorious, California’s top turf sprinter, ships Tuesday to Churchill Downs with Kentucky Derby contender Stronghold. Motorious runs May 4 in the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint.

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Phil D’Amato trains Stronghold, Motorious, and three of the eight fillies and mares in the Santa Maria – Desert Dawn, Super Shine, a Group 2 winner in Argentina, and Turnerloose. The 1 1/16-mile Santa Maria will offer Desert Dawn a chance to bounce back from a forgettable fourth in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile. Desert Dawn did not run bad, nor did she run great.

“It was all right,” D’Amato said. “She didn’t get the pace scenario I would have liked. She definitely needs [more] ground, and I think she’ll get more pace to run at in the Santa Maria.”

Desert Dawn, owned by mother-daughter breeders Elena and Hollie Crim, is nearing a milestone. With a top two finish Sunday, Desert Dawn will surpass $1 million in earnings. A late-running 5-year-old mare by Cupid, Desert Dawn has won three races, including two graded stakes, and $974,525 from 20 starts. But she is often compromised by pace, and it happened again in the Beholder.

“They let [Sweet Azteca] just walk on the lead,” D’Amato said, referring to the winner. Desert Dawn “came with a middle move, then flattened out a little bit.” Runner-up Adare Manor finished second and flattered the Beholder by winning the Apple Blossom. Adare Manor has finished in front of Desert Dawn four of the last five times they met.

Antonio Fresu rides Desert Dawn in the Santa Maria, a race likely to unfold at a legitimate pace. Front-runners and pressers include Big Novel, Princess Bettina, Blue Dream Machine, and Liberal Lady. All things equal, Desert Dawn should win the Santa Maria at a short price.

A key rival for Desert Dawn is making her first start in North America. Super Shine won four of 10 in Argentina, including three Group 2s. She posted her first U.S. workout in December; her work pattern has been uninterrupted since early January.

“She’s been on a steady improve for me in the mornings,” D’Amato said. “She’s given me some really good drills. She’s been off for almost a year. It was time to find her a race, get her going.”

South American imports often require an extended period of acclimation before reaching top form, which could be the case with Super Shine. “It wouldn’t surprise me if she needed a race, just more to acclimate,” D’Amato said. “But from a fitness perspective, she should be pretty fit.”

Frankie Dettori rides Super Shine; Kazushi Kimura rides D’Amato’s third Santa Maria starter, Turnerloose. She finished a creditable fourth in her recent comeback in a Grade 3 turf mile, and is likely to improve. “Her dirt form is just as good as her turf form,” D’Amato noted.

The Santa Maria field also includes the Richard Mandella-trained Coffee in Bed, runner-up to Desert Dawn two back in the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes and sixth in the Beholder. The Santa Maria leads to the next California graded dirt stakes for fillies and mares, which is the Grade 2 Santa Margarita on May 26. Adare Manor won the Santa Margarita a year ago.

Race 4 Sunday is the $100,000 Siren Lure at 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course. Four of the five entrants are horse-for-course specialists who have won hillside turf stakes – First Peace, Mucho Del Oro, Lane Way, and Johnny Podres. Mackinnon won a Grade 3 turf mile for juveniles in 2021.

First Peace would be a proper choice in the Siren Lure following a solid fourth in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf. First Peace, who pressed a hot pace and tired, drops Sunday into a non-graded sprint and shortens to the distance at which he scored a highly rated allowance win two back. Mike Smith rides First Peace for trainer Mark Glatt.

The pace is expected to be set by either First Peace or Mucho Del Oro. Lane Way, Johnny Podres, and Mackinnon will rally from behind.

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