Kinza hands Baffert third straight victory in Las Virgenes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Kinza stretched her speed two turns Saturday at Santa Anita, leading wire-to-wire in the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes, to give trainer Bob Baffert and owner Michael Petersen their third consecutive victory in the one-mile dirt race for 3-year-old fillies.

Juan Hernandez rode Kinza ($4) to the two-length victory over second choice Kopion. The final time was 1:37.03. The third through fifth-place finishers were She’s a Tempest, Nothing Like You, and Great Forty Eight.

Kinza was making only her second start after a runaway debut sprint that earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest by a filly foaled in 2021. Two turns was not a problem according to her jockey.

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“She wanted to go to the lead,” Hernandez said. “Actually, that was my plan to go to the lead and open up a couple lengths. She was doing that really comfortably.”

Kinza set fractions of 46.91 and 1:10.82 while two-for-two Kopion chased from second. There was little positional change in the race; She’s a Tempest raced third throughout.

Baffert’s assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes said he and Baffert were confident Kinza would get two turns. “She acts like a filly that was going to handle it,” Barnes said. “You don’t know until you do it, but she showed in the morning in her workouts that she looked like she would go farther.”

Baffert and Petersen won the Las Virgenes in 2022 with Adare Manor, and in 2023 with Faiza. Kinza is not eligible for the Kentucky Oaks due to the Churchill Downs ban of Baffert.

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