Mission of Joy ($25.80) gets up in final strides to take Rodeo Drive
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ARCADIA, Calif. - What a day for a career-best performance.
Mission of Joy, a 5-year-old mare beaten in her last 13 appearances in stakes since June 2023, won Saturday’s Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares on turf at Santa Anita in an 11-1 upset.
A patient trip was vital for the surprise victory, jockey Umberto Rispoli said.
Mission of Joy ($25.80) rallied wide into a slow pace to reach the front in the final strides. The win gave Mission of Joy a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
“She relaxed well,” said Rispoli, who rode Mission of Joy for the first time in a race on Saturday.
“She settled right where I wanted. Once I took her outside, she gave me a good turn of foot.”
Mission of Joy ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.03, finishing a head in front of Speed Shopper, who led in the final sixteenth under jockey Kazushi Kimura.
“She ran great,” Kimura said. “Everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, I got beat.”
Mission of Joy earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88.
Starry Heavens finished third, a half-length behind Speed Shopper, and was followed by Alpha Bella, Amber Cascade, Long Ago and Hang the Moon. Watchtower trailed early and was pulled up on the backstretch. She was walked off the track.
Alpha Bella set a moderate pace of 23.63 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.44 for a half-mile. She led narrowly with a furlong remaining before fading from contention. Amber Cascade, the 9-5 favorite, stalked Alpha Bella to early stretch, but failed to remain in contention.
Mission of Joy, a 5-year-old Ontario-bred mare by Kitten’s Joy, races for RyZan Sun Racing and Madaket Stable and is trained by Phil D’Amato.
A winner of 6 of 21 starts, Mission of Joy joined D’Amato’s stable in the summer. She was previously trained by Graham Motion in Maryland.
Mission of Joy won two Grade 3 stakes for Motion in 2023 – the Florida Oaks at Tampa Bay Downs and the Regret Stakes at Churchill Downs. Later that year, she finished third by a length in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for 3-year-old fillies at Keeneland.
The Rodeo Drive Stakes was Mission of Joy’s first win at 1 1/4 miles. She was seventh by three lengths in her only start at the distance in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks in 2023.
The $2 million BC Filly and Mare Turf will be Mission of Joy’s first start at 1 3/8 miles. She has earned $680,667.
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