La Fiera finishes strong in Campanile

La Fiera sat back early and then made a strong, sustained rally to defeated seven rival 3-year-old California-bred fillies in the $100,210 Campanile Stakes on Sunday at Golden Gate Fields.

La Fiera ($13.80) had trailed by double-digit lengths in her last start when she rallied for third. Though she was next-to-last early, she was only 4 1/2 lengths behind pacesetting Swiss Skimmer.

Jockey Juan Hernandez gave her a patient ride without asking too much early, but then moved out into the clear coming off the far turn into the stretch. She made a strong move to get by Niassa, who had taken the lead at the quarter pole and pulled clear to win the one-mile turf race by two lengths in 1:38.02

Ashley’s Sassy got her head in front of Niassa at the wire for second. Swiss Skimmer, the early leader, ducked through the temporary rail at the top of the stretch with rider Abel Cedillo jumping off before she made a sharp right turn going back to the course.

“She broke really good,” said La Fiera’s rider, Juan Hernandez. “Then she got behind horses, and I was just trying to save ground. Around the [far] turn, I got her out, and she started picking it up. When I started asking her in the stretch, she responded very well.”

Trainer Greg James’s assistant, Mary Panian, said she and James “thought she really fit in the race. She lost to two nice Kentucky-breds [in her last start], so I thought if she had a clean trip today she could win.

A Dr. William and Jill Gray homebred by Comic Strip out of Ms. Booty, La Fiera notched her third career victory in five starts, earning $57,000 to improve her lifetime earnings to $82,607.