Istanford does her thing in Sandy Blue

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Mike Stidham said there was no turning back after deciding to run Istanford in the $96,350 Sandy Blue Handicap on Friday instead of the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on Saturday.

There was no turning back for Istanford once the gates opened. She led her rivals the entire way of the one-mile grass race while recording a 3 1/4-length victory to remain perfect in four starts at one mile.

“Some horses are just brilliant milers, and it seems like that’s what she is,” Stidham said.

The Sandy Blue Handicap was ungraded, but Stidham preferred the distance to the 1 1/8 miles of the Del Mar Oaks. Both races are for 3-year-old turf fillies.

As she did when winning the Grade 2 San Clemente here on July 19, Istanford seized the lead under Rafael Bejarano and was gone.

In the Sandy Blue, she set fractions of 22.93 seconds, 46.65, and 1:10.28 for six furlongs en route to a final time of 1:34.81 for one mile on firm turf. As the 6-5 favorite, Istanford paid $4.60.

Miss Machiavelli finished second, 1 1/4 lengths in front of third-place Tiz Kissable.

Wonderfully, the 5-2 second choice, was eighth in the field of 10 after breaking slowly.

“We made the decision, no looking back,” said Stidham, who consulted with owners Ike and Dawn Thrash about which race to run in.

Stidham said his biggest concern was that since the turf course had been extensively watered and aerated since the San Clemente, “speed hasn’t been holding.”

“But she’s just so talented. That’s all her,” he said.

Istanford, a daughter of Istan, has now won five times in 11 starts.