Interesting group gathers for La Canada

ARCADIA, Calif. – The female dirt division gets a small boost Sunday at Santa Anita, where an eclectic field runs a 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 3 La Canada Stakes.

Veteran mare Alpha Bella and lightly raced filly Cavalieri top the first dirt route stakes of winter for fillies and mares. The field also includes Grade 2 winners Musical Mischief and Chatalas, South American Group 1 winner Che Evasora and Big Hug, a 13-time winner in Canada. There will be a pick six carryover of $52,051, with the sequence starting in race 6.

Division heavyweights Richi and Accuracy are missing from the La Canada to wait for the Grade 1 Beholder Mile on March 8. Richi recently scored a fast comeback sprint win; Accuracy, who romped her last two routes, finished fifth last out in the Grade 1 La Brea, a sprint.

The La Canada will be the first start for Alpha Bella since a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Bayakoa on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. Alpha Bella is making her third start for trainer John Sadler after relocating from the East Coast.

Alpha Bella is knocking on the door. Runner-up after stumbling at the break in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes in fall at Santa Anita, she followed with a runner-up finish in the Bayakoa. Sadler has since targeted the La Canada for Alpha Bella, a 5-year-old by Justify.

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“She’s been right on target,” Sadler said. “She had nice spacing from [Nov. 2] until here. She’s a good fit. We’re just staying on steady with her, she’s ready to go.”

Flavien Prat rides Alpha Bella, who adds blinkers and has the best last-race Beyer Speed Figure, a 93. Alpha Bella, who is 3 for 18 lifetime, breaks from the rail, as Cavalieri, 2 for 2 lifetime, will break from the outside post.

Bob Baffert trains Cavalieri, who won both starts at one mile on dirt with relatively high Beyers, 90 and 89. Cavalieri scratched from the seven-furlong La Brea on Dec. 26.

“She was going to run in the La Brea. She had a slight temperature that day,” Baffert said. “She never really got sick. She’s doing well. I think two turns [is preferred].”

Cavalieri is not the only potential stakes filly Baffert runs Sunday. Halone, a runaway maiden winner, runs one mile on dirt in race 10, an entry-level allowance. Halone earned a 93 Beyer last out and is likely to be heavily favored Sunday.

Chatalas looms the La Canada upsetter, despite her last-out eighth in the Grade 1 American Oaks on turf. She did not have a good trip. She was shuffled into the far turn, steadied, and retreated.

“She was sitting in a nice spot, it got kind of tight, and he had to steady a couple times,” trainer Mark Glatt said. “It just didn’t work out.” Chatalas, a two-time graded winner on dirt, switches surfaces Sunday and is expected to produce speed under Antonio Fresu.

Musical Mischief won the Grade 2 Locust Grove two back at Churchill Downs but misfired last out in the Falls City. Che Evasora finished sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Big Hug is 13 for 22, her wins coming in Western Canada.

The La Canada goes as race 8 on a 10-race card that begins at 11:30 a.m. Pacific.

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