Juvenile winners could clash in summer stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Roses for Laura and Acai won the first local races of 2019 for juveniles on Friday and Sunday and could meet in stakes later this summer.

Both fillies beat odds-on favorites in races at 4 1/2 furlongs.

Friday, Roses for Laura ($9.80) won a maiden special weight race for California-bred fillies by three lengths over 4-5 Vegan, who is trained by Doug O’Neill. Roses for Laura was timed in 54.18 seconds and was ridden by Edgar Payeras.

“She ran like I thought she would,” trainer Gary Sherlock said. “He’d been working her and I told him to ride her like she was the best horse. I knew she was very fit.”

Roses for Laura, by Time to Get Even, races for Tom and Sally London, Terry Lovingier and Eugene Zondlo, and was bred by Lovingier.

On Sunday, Acai ($12.60) fought off a challenge from 4-5 favorite Go Big Blue Nation to win a maiden special weight race against open company by 1 1/4 lengths in 55.03 seconds. Mario Gutierrez rode Acai.

Trained by O’Neill, Acai is owned by breeders Paul and Zillah Reddam. Acai is by Square Eddie out of Smoove, and is a full-sister to Smoove It, who won the 2016 Irish O’Brien Stakes at Santa Anita and earned $395,910.

There are no stakes for 2-year-olds at the Santa Anita meeting, which runs through June 23, or during the three-week Los Alamitos summer meeting, which runs from June 27 to July 14. Santa Anita had scheduled two $75,000 races for 2-year-old in June, but canceled them last month out of concern there would be insufficient runners.

The first stakes for 2-year-olds at the Del Mar summer meeting is the $100,000 CTBA Stakes for statebred fillies at 5 1/2 furlongs on July 31, a race that could attract Roses for Laura and Acai.