John C. Mabee, Rodeo Drive are possible next starts for Anisette

DEL MAR, Calif. - The three-race winning streak Anisette has amassed since last December will be more difficult to maintain in coming months.

On Saturday at Del Mar, Anisette won her second start of 2024 in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf, closing from fifth in the final sixteenth.

The win moved Anisette closer to an intended start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 2. How she will be prepared for that race is undetermined.

Trainer Leonard Powell said Sunday that Anisette could start in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on Sept. 7, or the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 5.

“She may run in just one,” Powell said.

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A gap between starts is unlikely to be an issue for Anisette, who races for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. Anisette won her 2024 debut in the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on May 25, her first race since a win in the Grade 1 American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita last December.

What is a greater concern is the competition in the BC Filly and Mare Turf, which will draw runners from the East Coast as well as expected candidates from Europe and Japan. How she will fare against a world-class field is unclear.

“That’s a question that will be answered on the day,” Powell said. “We’ll have a home-court advantage.”

Anisette is unbeaten in three career starts on turf at Del Mar, including the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes at a mile and the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks at 1 1/8 miles last summer.

Powell has sensed changes in Anisette in the last year, stating she is more comfortable racing from off the pace.

“She seemed to settle much more in this race than last year,” he said of the Yellow Ribbon win. “Last year, she needed a good pace to relax and finish.”

On Saturday, Powell will attempt to win the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks with Sakura Blossom, who finished fourth of 10 in the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap at a mile on July 20 despite traffic issues.

“Can she win? Yes,” Powell said. “The mile was too short.”

The first three finishers of the San Clemente Handicap – Iscreamuscream, Zona Verde and Medoro – are candidates for the Del Mar Oaks. The race has attracted two runners from outside of California in the stakes winners Buchu and Whiskey Decision.

Buchu, trained by Phil Bauer, won the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland in April in her 2024 debut and was sixth after a wide trip in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks at Aqueduct on July 6.

Whiskey Decision, trained by Arnaud Delacour, has won her last three starts, including her stakes debut in the Christiana Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Delaware Park on July 8.

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