Moons Over Me late addition to Anoakia field
ARCADIA, Calif. – Moons Over Me has had a busy few weeks since the Santa Anita autumn meeting began in late September.
The 2-year-old filly beat maidens in her second start Sept. 28, the third day of the season, and came back to work five furlongs in 1:02.40 on Thursday. The workout left trainer Jim Cassidy so impressed that he supplemented Moons Over Me to Sunday’s $75,000 Anoakia Stakes for a cost of $1,500.
“I wasn’t going to run her,” Cassidy said. “I intended to put her on the grass, but I didn’t see any races I liked. The racing office called and said, ‘Do you want to supplement?’ She worked so good. It was in hand. There was nowhere else to run. The only other race was the Breeders’ Cup, and that could be asking too much.”
Owned by Marilyn Braly, Moons Over Me is one of six fillies in the Anoakia, which is run over six furlongs. The field includes Seduire, who won the Wine Country Debutante at Santa Rosa in August; the recent maiden-race winners Light the City and Xoxo; Starlet O’Hara, who was ninth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Aug. 30; and Holiday Maker, who is unbeaten in two starts – a $30,000 claimer for maidens at Del Mar and a $32,000 claimer at Los Alamitos on Sept. 19.
Anoakia Stakes, race 3
KEY CONTENDERS
Light the City (Last Beyer: 76)
◗ Light the City led throughout a maiden race over six furlongs Aug. 24, pulling clear in early stretch and winning by 2 3/4 lengths.
“We think she’s a pretty nice filly,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said. “We thought she’d run well first time out.”
Light the City may not lead throughout the Anoakia, considering that Xoxo and Seduire have shown speed.
Seduire (Last 3 Beyers: 68-75-65)
◗ Seduire was fifth in the Del Mar Debutante over seven furlongs, leading to early stretch before fading to finish 5 1/2 lengths behind the winner, Sunset Glow. Hollendorfer trains Seduire, who won a maiden race over 4 1/2 furlongs here in May and was second in the Landaluce Stakes over 5 1/2 furlongs in June.
Moons Over Me (Last 2 Beyers: 64-61)
◗ By Majesticperfection, Moons Over Me did not have a fast workout time Thursday, but the exercise left Cassidy impressed.
“The workout was not a struggle,” Cassidy said. “It was as nice as you would want to see her work.”
Moons Over Me is a stalker who would benefit from a quick pace. In her maiden win, she closed from fourth in a field of 11 with a wide rally to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Mike Smith was aboard for that race and retains the mount.
Xoxo (Last Beyer: 70)
◗ Xoxo could easily be part of the pace. She beat maidens over 5 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos by 4 1/2 lengths in her career debut Sept. 6 as a 10-1 outsider. On Oct. 3, Xoxo had a quick six-furlong workout in 1:12.20 at the San Luis Rey Downs training center.