Miss Serendipity on right side of photo in Gamely

ARCADIA, Calif. - Miss Serendipity’s spring campaign is one in which she wins by a photo, or loses by a photo.

After losing the Grade 3 Santa Barbara Handicap by a neck on April 13, Miss Serendipity was on the correct end of the image in Monday’s $301,000 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita, catching Emollient in the final strides to score a 13-1 upset in the premier race of the spring-summer meeting for fillies and mares on turf.

The Grade 1 Gamely was the first win in a race at that level for Miss Serendipity since the Group 1 Estrellas Distaff in Argentina last June, her final start in that country, where she was bred.

Turning into the stretch of the Gamely, jockey Brice Blanc was confident he had the measure of leader Emollient.

“I had a perfect trip this time,” Blanc said. “I was able to ease her out.”

Emollient, the 3-1 second choice, led by a length with a furlong remaining, but Miss Serendipity steadily closed in the final sixteenth to win by a nose. Miss Serendipity ($29.80) ran 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:46.22.

Parranda, the 2-1 favorite, closed from seventh in a field of nine to finish third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Emollient. Jockey Corey Nakatani, who rode Parranda, questioned whether a modest pace of 23.94 and 47.31 seconds worked against his mount, who won the Grade 3 Wilshire on April 27.

“The pace was a little softer,” Nakatani said. “I think she’s either a come-from-behind miler, or a pace horse going farther. If they would have quickened a bit earlier, we’d have been all right.”

Stormy Lucy, the winner of the Santa Barbara, finished fourth, followed by Premier Steps, Customer Base, Rhagori, Emotional Kitten, and Changethechannel.

The Gamely was Miss Serendipity’s fifth start in this country. A 6-year-old mare by Not For Sale, Miss Serendipity races for Matias Cavalieri, and was bred by his father, Anselmo Emilio Cavalieri, who attended Monday’s race.

After fourth-place finishes in her first two starts – the Paseana and Grade 2 Buena Vista stakes – Miss Serendipity finished third to Stormy Lucy in the Grade 2 Santa Ana Stakes in March, the first time she was ridden by Blanc.

The 41-year-old rider said he noticed improvement in Miss Serendipity from the Santa Ana to the Gamely.

“She’s improving in every race,” he said. “The first couple of races she was aggressive. They’ve done a lot of work with her. It took a while to work with her. She’s been improving.”

Blanc had Miss Serendipity well placed throughout the Gamely, running in fourth place behind pacesetter Rhagori. Miss Serendipity rallied outside of Emollient in the stretch. Through the final furlong, Blanc said that Emollient, ridden by Rosie Napravnik, was drifting out.

“The other horse was herding her a little bit,” Blanc said. “If I’d have lost, I might have claimed foul.”

The Gamely was the first win in a Grade 1 for Blanc since the Del Mar Debutante in 2007. It was the first win at the highest level for McAnally since Suggestive Boy won the Frank Kilroe Mile in March 2013.

Miss Serendipity has won 6 of 24 starts and earned $373,358.

McAnally has spoken highly of Miss Serendipity in recent months, and saw the mare prove his faith on Monday.

“I thought we had a shot,” McAnally said. “She’s really come along in the last few weeks, too.”