Fantastic Style defeats older rivals in Great Lady M.

CYPRESS, Calif. – Fantastic Style took on older fillies and mares for the first time in Saturday’s $200,750 Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos and confirmed her brilliance in stakes around one turn.

Making her second start in a graded stakes, Fantastic Style, 3, closed from third in a field of eight to score a convincing win by 3 1/2 lengths. Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Fantastic Style ($7) ran 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:14.78.

The Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes was the most prestigious win of Fantastic Style’s six-race career.

“One turn is her game,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “It was a Grade 2 and a good race. This is the time of year you can try this with 3-year-olds.”

Owned by Kaleem Shah, Fantastic Style had an ideal trip. Amaranth and Sunday Rules, stakes winners at Santa Anita in their last starts, set a quick pace of 21.42 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.04 for the first half-mile. Bejarano guided Fantastic Style around the frontrunners entering the stretch and quickly took the lead, holding a three-length advantage with a furlong remaining.

“That is the way Rafael thought it would be,” Shah said. “She sat off of them and came running.”

Living the Life, a 10-1 shot, closed from seventh to finish second, 3 1/4 lengths in front of the 6-5 favorite Sunday Rules. Warren’s Veneda was fourth, followed by Legacy, Harlington’s Rose, Clearly Confused, and Amaranth.

The Great Lady M. Stakes was the graded stakes debut and first loss for Sunday Rules, who won her first five races, including two stakes for California-bred females.

Warren’s Veneda, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational and two other stakes at Santa Anita earlier this year, was fourth throughout the Great Lady M. Trainer Craig Lewis said he considered Saturday’s race a prep for the $300,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 1.

Fantastic Style, by Harlan’s Holiday, has won 4 of 6 starts and earned $272,000. She was third in the Grade 2 Beaumont Stakes at Keeneland in April in her stakes debut before winning her first stakes in the minor Angels Flight Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs May 16 at Santa Anita.