Escape Clause possible for Buena Vista or Beholder mile
ARCADIA, Calif. - At about 2 a.m. Sunday, less than 10 hours after a win in the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita, Escape Clause was loaded on a trailer and was driven by owner-trainer Don Schnell to his winter base at Turf Paradise.
Schnell arrived at the Phoenix racetrack by mid-morning, hauling a remarkable 5-year-old mare who won her first graded stakes in the La Canada and the 19th race of her 28-race career. The $100,000 La Canada Stakes was also the first graded stakes win for Schnell, 66.
Schnell thought Escape Clause could win the La Canada Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles when he realized she was the favorite. He described himself as a “hick-town trainer with a hick-town horse.”
Self-deprecating humor aside, the magnitude of the win was hard for Schnell to comprehend in the winner’s circle.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said.
Ridden by Tyler Baze, Escape Clause rallied from third with an authoritative move on the turn to win by 5 1/2 lengths on a wet-fast track.
Escape Clause has won 17 stakes, with most of the wins coming in races worth $50,000 or less at Canadian tracks such as Assiniboia Downs, Century Downs, and Northlands Park. In her California debut in November, Escape Clause, a Manitoba-bred, was promoted from second to first in the restricted Kathryn Crosby Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar in November after a rival was disqualified for causing interference.
Escape Clause was third in the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap at Del Mar later in November and fourth in the Grade 3 Robert Frankel Stakes here on Dec. 29.
It will not be long before Schnell and Escape Clause will be headed westbound on I-10 for Santa Anita. Races such as the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at a mile on turf on Feb. 23 or the Grade 1 Beholder Mile on dirt on March 16 will be considered.
Schnell said Escape Clause is a mare who thrives on activity. She had 11 races as a 3-year-old in 2017 and 13 in 2018.
“We have to reconsider whether we want to stay on turf or dirt,” he said from Phoenix on Sunday. “For her, nine weeks is quite a while off.
“The betting public liked her. I know she can run, but I wasn’t sure about the track. She took the race really well. She was so bright this morning. I imagine we’ll look for a race in a few weeks.”
