My Sweet Addiction likely to rest until Del Mar

ARCADIA, Calif. - My Sweet Addiction redeemed a year of struggles with her upset win in Saturday’s $294,000 Vanity Stakes, a win that has left trainer Marty Jones pondering how to plan a summer campaign.

Jones said on Sunday that My Sweet Addiction may not start again until the $300,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on dirt at Del Mar on Aug. 1. Jones said that My Sweet Addiction is doubtful for the $100,000 Adoration Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles here on June 13. The Grade 3 Adoration is the only remaining graded stakes for the division around two turns on dirt at the current spring-summer meeting, which ends on June 28.

My Sweet Addiction ($11.20) won her first stakes in the Grade 1 Vanity Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, finishing a length in front of 7-1 Gas Total, who was a head in front of 1-9 favorite Warren’s Veneda.

The Vanity was My Sweet Addiction’s third career start in a stakes. Last year, she was third as the 4-5 favorite in the minor Desert Stormer Stakes after bearing out on the turn. Earlier this year, she was last of six in the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes at seven furlongs after fighting for the early lead.

“She’s had her ups and downs, and that was a big up,” Jones said of the Vanity. “I’ve seen her more tired from some of her other races. We were hoping for that.”

My Sweet Addiction led throughout the Vanity, and repelled a challenge in early stretch from Warren’s Veneda, who faded through the stretch.

Warren’s Veneda won three consecutive stakes earlier this year, including the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational on March 15. Sunday, trainer Craig Lewis said there was no apparent excuse for Warren’s Veneda’s loss.

“We’ll run blood tests as a precautionary measure,” Lewis said. “From what we can see, she doesn’t have an excuse. It wasn’t her day. We’ll try to regroup.

“She’s had a lot of nice races and she didn’t do that yesterday.”

The Vanity Stakes drew only four starters. The race lost its leading candidate last Thursday with the withdrawal of the two-time champion Beholder a day after entries were taken. Beholder was diagnosed with a 102-degree temperature on Thursday, which subsided by Friday, trainer Richard Mandella said.

Beholder’s condition continued to improve through the weekend.

“She had a normal temperature,” Mandella said on Sunday. “Her blood work is coming back to normal. She won’t go to the track for six, seven, or eight days, depending on how she does.”

Mandella reiterated his previous position that Beholder will be pointed for the Adoration and is likely to skip the $1 million Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park on June 6.

“More than likely, we’ll run in the Adoration,” he said. “I think it would be asking too much to ship to New York.”