Lost Bus has right tools to win CTBA Stakes
DEL MAR, Calif. – Before Lost Bus made her debut at Santa Anita on May 26, jockey Victor Espinoza told trainer Blake Heap he planned to take a hold and make one run, a style he thought would suit the outsized filly.
But when the gates opened, Lost Bus shot out quickly and never looked back, cruising to a 6 1/4-length victory.
“What happened to taking her back?” Heap joked to Espinoza after the race.
“The first jump, that changed,” Espinoza replied.
That precocious style of running, combined with her advanced physique, makes Lost Bus the one to beat when she makes her second start, which comes on Friday at Del Mar in the $100,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. Eight others are in the 5 1/2-furlong race, including My Fiona, who also won her debut and then was third against open company last time out in the Landaluce Stakes at Santa Anita.
The CTBA goes as race 7 on an eight-race card that begins at 4 p.m. Pacific.
Lost Bus was bred and is owned by John Haagsma and Wesley Ward, a trainer with whom Heap is closely associated. Heap said Lost Bus, a daughter of Ward’s stallion Bring the Heat, was conceived in Florida, but then the dam, Frysland, was brought to California to foal.
Though Lost Bus wasn’t favored in her debut, Heap said he expected a good performance in that 4 1/2-furlong race.
“I thought she could really run,” he said. “She worked real fast one morning, and then we tried to slow her down the next couple of works. She just looked like she could run.
“She’s a big filly, 16 hands tall now, so I don’t want to run her a bunch of times at 2. She looks like a 3-year-old. She’s a great big, beautiful thing. She’s had plenty of time since her first race, and if we want to run her again this meet, she’ll have another six or seven weeks.”
Espinoza has the call again.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Lost Bus. All foals from her dam, Frysland, are a combined 11 for 25 with a top Beyer Speed Figure of 101, including 2 for 3 on synthetic surfaces.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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My Fiona, a daughter of Ghostzapper, won her debut on May 18, scoring a 3 1/4-length victory going 4 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita, then raced wide when a distant third in the Landaluce over 5 1/2 furlongs on June 22. She gets class relief here by moving back into a race restricted to Cal-breds.
“I didn’t think she was 100 percent ready for her first race, but she beat that field because she’s so good,” said Walther Solis, who trains My Fiona. “She doesn’t have that much speed, but she always breaks good, so she can get good position, she can place herself. I think she’ll be even better when she gets more distance.”
Singing Kitty also looks like a major player in here. She cruised to a 4 1/4-length victory for trainer Steve Miyadi in her lone start, which came at Santa Anita on June 26 when going five furlongs.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Singing Kitty. Trainer Steven Miyadi is 1 for 31 with a $0.83 ROI in sprints at Del Mar over the past five years.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Trainer Jeff Bonde entered two runners, Really a Princess – who won at Pleasanton on June 20 in her lone start – and Line Leader, who defeated maidens in her second start June 12 at Santa Anita after finishing second to My Fiona in her debut.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Line Leader. Trainer Jeff Bonde is 1 for 13 with a $0.24 ROI over the past five years with horses making their first start on synthetic after a maiden victory.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Desert Thief. Trainer Cesar Dominguez is 0 for 10 over the past five years with 2-year-olds in their start following a win.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan