Eda continues Baffert's dominance of Starlet Stakes
CYPRESS, Calif. - Earlier this year, Eda was a disappointing fifth as the 6-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs, fading from contention after setting a fast pace.
Eda has not lost in three subsequent starts, and was part of a record-equaling win for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and owners Charlie and Susan Chu in Saturday’s Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Los Alamitos.
Eda was the third consecutive win in the Starlet for the Chu-Baffert team, preceded by Bast in 2019 and Varda last year.
Baffert has won the Starlet the last five years, and eight times in history, equaling fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas on the all-time list of winningest trainers in a race first run in 1979.
The success of the Chus and Baffert has had a familiar pattern – well-bred prospects purchased as yearling or at 2-year-olds in-training sales.
“They’re lucky,” Baffert said of the Chus in the winner’s circle. “They understand our program. They’ve had good luck with their fillies.
“They buy good horses.”
The Chus spend, too.
Bast, by Uncle Mo, was a $500,000 yearling purchase. The Starlet was her third of four stakes wins, a span interrupted by a third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.
Varda, bought for $700,000 as a 2-year-old, has not raced since the 2020 Starlet, and has been working steadily since late September. Varda, by Distorted Humor, has had only three starts.
Eda, who was purchased for $550,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale of 2-year-olds in-training in March, won her debut at 1 1/16 miles in the Starlet. Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Eda was always near the front and won her first graded stakes in the $300,500 Starlet.
Racing near the front throughout, Eda faced pressure in the stretch from the turf stakes winner Cairo Memories, but held off that rival. Eda, by Munnings, has won 4 of 6 starts and has earned $370,000.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Baffert said of the win. “It’s one of those things. You don’t know if they’ll go long until they do it.
“It’s a Grade 1 and it’s very important.”
After the loss in the Debutante, Eda won consecutive sprints at 1-5 – the Anoakia Stakes at six furlongs at Santa Anita on Oct. 24 and the Desi Arnaz Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 13.
Eda was the 11-10 favorite in the Starlet and the only highlight of the race for Baffert. Benedict Canyon and Grace Adler were fifth and sixth in a field of six. Grace Adler, who won the Debutante, but was fifth in the Grade 2 Chandelier Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Oct. 1, was beaten more than 40 lengths.
“I was disappointed in my other horses,” Baffert said.
Baffert won his first Starlet in 1998 with Excellent Meeting. The current streak of Starlet winners for Baffert began with Dream Tree in 2017 and Chasing Yesterday in 2018.
In early 2022, Eda could be considered for such races as the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes, a $200,000 race at a mile at Santa Anita on Feb. 6. Lukas and Baffert share the record for most wins in that race with five. Baffert won the 2018 Las Virgenes with Dream Tree, his most recent win.
The Starlet win was Baffert’s 10th Grade 1 win of the year, although Medina Spirit’s victory in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in May is the subject of court action following a medication violation. As a result, Baffert cannot start horses at Churchill Downs, including the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks, in 2022 or 2023.
The Kentucky Oaks could be in the long-term future for Cairo Memories, who had her dirt track debut in the Starlet. Trained by Bob Hess Jr. for Schroeder Farms and David Bernsen, Cairo Memories won her stakes debut in the Surfer Girl Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 3 and was ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 5, finishing 2 3/4 lengths by Pizza Bianca.
Cairo Memories is unlikely to start in the Las Virgenes, but could appear in dirt races in 2022, Hess said.
“She came out of it well,” Hess said. “I think it will open up more avenues. We’ll give her a 60-day break and look at some dirt races. We look forward to having fun with her in 2022.”