Fibonaccis Ride makes her return after being forced to the sidelines

Fibonaccis Ride was two weeks away from a potential stakes appearance at Del Mar last fall when she was sidelined with an apparent abscess that kept her out of training for months.

With the issue long behind her, Fibonaccis Ride has her second start in an allowance race for California-bred 3-year-old fillies at 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Considering Fibonaccis Ride won her debut in a maiden race by six lengths at Los Alamitos last September, she is capable of another win on Sunday.

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“She’s ready to win, if she’s good enough,” trainer Cesar DeAlba said on Friday. “We have confidence in her.”

Fibonaccis Ride has had five workouts at Los Alamitos since mid-March, including a half-mile in 46.20 seconds on April 19.

“Looking back, there wasn’t much in that [last] race,” DeAlba said. “Saying that, this will be a tougher field. She’s got plenty of air in her.”

The race could propel Fibonaccis Ride to a long-awaited stakes debut in a race such as the $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes at seven furlongs for statebred 3-year-old fillies at Del Mar on Aug. 1.

Owned and bred by James Shenouda, who races as Zephyr Racing, Fibonaccis Ride is by Clubhouse Ride. Last fall, a month after her maiden race win, Fibonaccis Ride was taken out of training.

“She came up with a lump on her chest,” DeAlba said. “We sent her for scans. There was no final good diagnosis. We gave her time off and it must have been an abscess. It took care of itself.”

Fibonaccis Ride, who will be ridden by Armando Ayuso on Saturday, set the pace last September, a tactic that is not vital, DeAlba said.

“She’s easy to ride,” he said. “She’s not aggressive. She’s naturally quick. We can put her where the jockey wants.”

Saturday’s allowance race drew a field of seven that includes Going Deep and Knightwithlouis, who were fourth and sixth in the Evening Jewel Stakes for 3-year-old statebred fillies at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on April 5.

Both are multiple winners trained by Doug O’Neill, and have shown speed, though Knightwithlouis did win a maiden race as a stalker at Sacramento last summer.

DeAlba, who has a small stable of Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds based at Los Alamitos, had his first Santa Anita winner of 2025 with Fast Buck in an allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf at Santa Anita on April 26.

The winner of the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes for turf sprinters at Santa Anita in 2023, Fast Buck has earned a brief vacation after last week’s win.

“He’ll get some rest,” DeAlba said. “We can get him ready for Del Mar.”

The Del Mar summer meeting runs from July 18 to Sept. 7.

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