I'm So Anna carries high expectations into CTBA Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. – Even if juvenile filly I’m So Anna is a cinch in the $100,000 CTBA Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar, you won’t hear Steve Sherman making guarantees.

The trainer was let down once already by I’m So Anna, odds-on in her May 23 debut at Golden Gate Fields.

“She was outworking everything I had,” Sherman said. “Head and head, on the pace, four and five lengths behind horses. We really schooled her.”

:: Get DRF's Betting Strategies for Del Mar's weekend cards

So, yes, expectations were high.

“I really thought she was going to win,” Sherman said. “But she kind of got off sideways and went to her knees. It was a disaster coming out of there. Going four and a half furlongs you can’t give up that much.”

I’m So Anna somehow rallied to finish third.

“I wasn’t really bummed, I was just in shock,” Sherman said. “I wondered, could I have been that wrong?”

No, Sherman was right, and I’m So Anna proved it at Los Alamitos in her second start. There, she broke running and delivered the type of performance Sherman expected first out. She crushed by four lengths and earned a relatively high 66 Beyer.

Based on her maiden romp, I’m So Anna is favored to win the California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Stakes for California-bred 2-year-old fillies Saturday at Del Mar. Seven are entered in the 5 1/2-furlong race, and the focus is I’m So Anna, owned and bred by Kevin and Kim Nish’s KMN Racing.

Six of the seven in the field are maiden winners. The rail-drawn Big Andy crossed the finish line first in his debut but was disqualified for interference and placed fourth. The others in the race are Governor Goteven, Reign of Fire, Righteously, Jasmine Chieftain, and Love Wins.

:: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more

Sherman is based in Northern California, but I’m So Anna has been in Southern California since late June with Sherman’s father, Art Sherman.

“I left it in his hands, and said, ‘Get a win for us,’ ” Steve Sherman said.

I’m So Anna breaks from the outside post under Ricardo Gonzalez. She is a large filly and the fastest in the field, with a mind that belies her age.

“She’s easy to ship, schools perfect,” Sherman said. “She just does everything right. She’s got a great mind. She’s a big, strong filly, 1,100 to 1,200 pounds.”

I’m So Anna would not be the first Del Mar stakes win for Sherman. He won the 2019 Fleet Treat with Hollywood Hills, the 2010 Real Good Deal with Goggles McCoy, and was instrumental in Del Mar stakes wins by his father with Knockout Artist and Haimish Hy.

As for I’m So Anna, 10-1 in her maiden win, Sherman makes no outright promises.

“I just hope she gets a good trip and a fair shake,” he said. “I don’t think she’ll disappoint us.”

The CTBA is race 8 on an 11-race card that includes the $100,000 Shared Belief for 3-year-olds, race 2, and the Grade 1 Bing Crosby for sprinters, race 10.