La Ville Lumiere rallies from last to first in Blue Norther Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – The person most surprised that La Ville Lumiere won Monday’s $100,500 Blue Norther Stakes at Santa Anita may have been winning rider Flavien Prat.

Turning for home in the one-mile turf race, La Ville Lumiere encountered trouble and was briefly last in the field of six 2-year-old fillies. Through the final furlong, La Ville Lumiere showed remarkable acceleration to reach the front, catching an unlucky Wild Like the West.

“I knew she could finish, but I didn’t think I could get there,” Prat said.

Prat did not intend to cause such a dramatic outcome. For the first six furlongs, La Ville Lumiere raced on the inside in fourth place, stalking 3-1 Latte Luv through a modest pace of 23.66 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 49.52 for a half-mile. It appeared to be an ideal spot for La Ville Lumiere

Latte Luv could not sustain her advantage and began to drift out from an inside position, forcing jockey Hector Berrios to take hold of the filly to control her steering. The situation left La Ville Lumiere in last and disrupted Prat’s strategy.

“The filly in front of me got us in trouble,” Prat said. “The horses outside made a move. They got the jump.”

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La Ville Lumiere had a clear run through the stretch. She closed about two lengths in the final furlong to win by a neck over 7-1 Wild Like the West, who had a half-length lead with a furlong remaining.

Wild Like the West finished a half-length in front of 3-1 Peanutbutterbombe, who was followed by Hypergamy, Total Val, and Latte Luv in the small field.

Sent off favored, La Ville Lumiere ($5.60) was timed in 1:37.52 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 70.

Trained by Michael McCarthy, La Ville Lumiere races for the partnership of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Sabby Racing, and Ken Reimer.

La Ville Lumiere had a busy year in 2025, winning 2 of 7 starts and earning $163,000. The Blue Norther Stakes was her fifth consecutive appearance in a stakes and first win at that level.

In her two starts prior to Monday’s race, both at Del Mar, La Ville Lumiere was seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on dirt on Oct. 31 and third in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes on turf Nov. 29.

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