Didia glides to Rodeo Drive victory ahead of Breeders' Cup try

ARCADIA, Calif. — Didia had not raced since early June before Saturday’s Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita and the layoff did not matter at all.

Sent off favored in a field of eight fillies and mares, Didia ($4.20) stalked the pace to early stretch before drawing clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths over the outstanding 3-year-old filly Anisette, the 8-5 second choice.

Didia earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 4 with the win in the $301,500 Rodeo Drive Stakes, her fifth start in six races in the United States for Merriebelle Stable and trainer Ignacio Correas.

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“I think she’ll be ready for the next time,” said winning jockey Vincent Cheminaud, who rode at Santa Anita for the first time on Saturday.

Didia was fifth and then fourth through the first six furlongs, tracking pacesetter Turnerloose, who set fractions of 24.50 seconds for the opening-quarter mile and 48.75 for a half-mile.

Didia rallied wide on the turn and took the lead in early stretch, drawing clear to finish 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.79. Didia earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.

For a filly who had not raced in four months, Didia was a cooperative runner, Cheminaud said.

Anisette, the winner of the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in August, was beaten for the first time in five starts in the Rodeo Drive, her first start against older fillies and mares. Anisette’s four-race winning streak included an allowance race in Britain last December, an allowance race in her American debut in May, and the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes at a mile on turf for 3-year-old fillies at Del Mar in July.

Anisette, trained by Leonard Powell, raced in traffic briefly on the turn in the Rodeo Drive, closing from sixth in the final quarter-mile.

“The winner got the jump on us and that was the difference,” Powell said. “She ran a good race.”

Juncture (18-1) finished third, followed by Closing Remarks, Neige Blanche, Symphony Perfect, Stoic Luna, and Turnerloose.

Didia missed a scheduled start in the Beverly D Stakes at Colonial Downs in August after she sustained a cut on her head a few weeks earlier that required stitches.

Didia, a two-time Group 1 winner in Argentina in 2021, had won three stakes in the United States before the Rodeo Drive, including the Grade 3 Modesty Stakes at Churchill Downs in May.

By the Lure stallion Orpen, Didia has won 9 of 13 starts and earned $772,109.

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