Eda has fourth straight stakes win with Santa Ysabel

ARCADIA, Calif. - Eda was overshadowed by stablemate Under the Stars in the betting for Sunday’s Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.

The roles were reversed at the finish.

Sent off as the third choice in a field of eight, Eda ($8.60) held off a late threat from even-money Under the Stars to win her 2022 debut in the $101,500 Santa Ysabel at 1 1/16 miles.

The Santa Ysabel was Eda’s fourth consecutive stakes win, a span that includes the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos in December. Under the Stars was favored on the basis of her attractive win in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at seven furlongs on Jan. 8 in her graded stakes debut.

Eda, ridden by Juan Hernandez, took the lead at the start of the Santa Ysabel, and held a one-length advantage through modest fractions of 23.62 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.05 for a half-mile. Eda was pressured in early stretch when Ain’t Easy posed a threat on the inside, and Under the Stars moved into contention on her outside.

:: Win big at Santa Anita: Get DRF Past Performances, Picks, Clocker Reports and Betting Strategies.

“She broke very fast and that helped me a lot,” Hernandez said. “I got a nice position.

“At the quarter pole, I felt the inside horse and outside horse. I thought, it’s time to go. She’s a game filly. When she felt the inside horse, she took off.”

Ain’t Easy, unraced since a win in the Grade 2 Chandelier Stakes in early October, faded in the final furlong, while Under the Stars challenged Eda to the wire, but failed to catch the leader. Eda won by a half-length in 1:44.31 and earned a career-high Beyer Figure of 88.

The first two finishers are trained by Bob Baffert.

Under the Stars finished 2 3/4 lengths in front of 3-1 Ain’t Easy, who was ridden by John Velazquez.

“I thought she ran well,” Velazquez said. “I thought she’d get there on the inside, but she got a little tired.”

Desert Dawn finished fourth, followed by Fortunata Tensio, Miss Everything, Cairo Memories and Classical Romance. Cairo Memories, second to Eda in the Starlet and the winner of the Surfer Girl Stakes on turf last October, will return to grass racing, trainer Bob Hess Jr. said.

Eda, a filly by Munnings, races for Baoma Corp., and was purchased as a 2-year-old in-training for $550,000. Eda has won 5 of 7 starts and earned $430,000. The current streak of stakes wins began in the minor Anoakia Stakes at six furlongs at Santa Anita last October and continued in the Desi Arnaz Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar in November.

The first three finishers are likely to meet again in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks, a $400,000 race at 1 1/16 miles on April 9.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports