Hot-riding Cedillo pilots Paradise Woods to Zenyatta victory

ARCADIA, Calif. – An aging mare and a new red-hot rider combined to upset the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita.

Paradise Woods and Abel Cedillo parlayed a perfect trip to a 1 3/4-length victory in the $200,351 Zenyatta, earning a Win and You’re In berth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

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The victory by Paradise Wood ($9.60) marked a return to form for the 5-year-old, who won the Zenyatta in 2017. It was the third graded stakes win this weekend for Cedillo, a 30-year-old making a name for himself locally after relocating early this year from Northern California.

Cedillo won two graded stakes Saturday, riding Mongolian Groom to an upset victory in the Grade 1 Awesome Again and longshot Cleopatra’s Strike in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship. Paradise Woods, third choice in the Zenyatta betting, was less surprising.

Paradise Woods broke running and found herself in a perfect spot pressing the pace set by 4-5 favorite Secret Spice. Those two raced one-two throughout, but Secret Spice was unable to stay and gave way inside the eighth pole. Paradise Woods kept running, and completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.31,which is likely to earn a Beyer Figure in the mid-90s.

“I kept her outside of Secret Spice and everything worked perfect,” Cedillo said.

Secret Spice finished second, a neck in front of better-than-she-looked third-place finisher Ollie’s Candy. Completing the order of finish were La Force, Mongolian Humor, and Kaydetre.

John Shirreffs took over training Paradise Woods early this year. She began her career with trainer Richard Mandella and in 2017 won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks and Grade 1 Zenyatta before finishing third that year in the BC Distaff at Del Mar.

While her two recent efforts produced disappointing finishes, fourth and second, Paradise Woods had excuses in both. She failed to produce speed in either start, got caught behind horses, and sputtered.

Paradise Woods benefited Sunday from a perfect trip positioned second behind a distance-challenged pacesetter.

Shirreffs said the pre-race strategy was to gain a forward positIon in the clear. “In the past, she’s gotten shuffled back and got [stuck] behind horses, but today she broke well and was able to get to the outside.”

Cedillo picked up the mount from Mike Smith, who is committed to Midnight Bisou for the BC Distaff. The win was Shirreffs’s fifth in the stakes, and his first since the race was renamed in honor of Zenyatta, the champion mare he trained.

Paradise Woods now has five wins, all at Santa Anita, and earnings of $1,123,890 from 17 starts. Shirreffs said it was owner Marty Wygod’s decision to keep her in training as a 5-year-old.

While the BC Distaff picked up a contender in Paradise Woods, it may have lost one in Secret Spice. She set the pace over a speed-conducive track, but lost the lead for the third straight time in a 1 1/16-mile race.

“That’s probably as far as she wants to go,” Prat said afterward. The BC Distaff is 1 1/8 miles.

Third-place finisher Ollie’s Candy, who won a Grade 1 last out leading gate to wire, showed no early interest. “She didn’t get a good start, and it changed the whole set-up,” jockey Kent Desormeaux said. “Last time she broke in front, this time she didn’t break at all and she still finished third. So it was pretty impressive in my eyes.”

Ollie’s Candy rallied from fifth and missed by less than two lengths. She is likely to benefit from the extra distance when she runs in the BC Distaff on Nov. 2.