Megahertz may be next for busy Amandine
ARCADIA, Calif. – Amandine could become the first horse to start in three stakes at the current Santa Anita winter-spring meeting in Monday’s Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf.
Amandine had a busy opening week of the meeting last month, winning the Lady of Shamrock Stakes at a mile on turf Dec. 26 and finishing third in the Grade 1 American Oaks at 1 1/4 miles on Dec. 29.
Owned by Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal and trained by Jeff Mullins, the 4-year-old Amandine would have her stakes debut against older fillies and mares in the $100,000 Megahertz Stakes. Mullins cautioned Sunday that Amandine’s participation hinges on how much training she will have this week when persistent rain is forecast.
“It depends on what happens this week,” Mullins said. “She needs to do something.”
The durable Amandine “had a week off” after her two stakes appearances in late December, Mullins said.
The list of candidates for the Megahertz Stakes is led by Vasilika, who won the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes here last September and the Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes in November. Vasilika was fourth in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at a mile on turf Dec. 2 at Del Mar, a loss that ended an eight-race winning streak that stretched from April 1 to the Goldikova.
The weekend’s leading race is Saturday’s Grade 2 Palos Verdes Stakes at six furlongs. The list of probable runners is led by Roy H, the champion sprinter of 2017 who is a finalist for the same award for the 2018 season. Roy H won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs last November, for the second consecutive year.
