Ordonez eyes ambitious Big Cap start for Vodka Vodka with notable absences

ARCADIA, Calif. – Six months ago, Vodka Vodka was a maiden nearing a comeback after a yearlong layoff.

On Saturday at Santa Anita, Vodka Vodka became a stakes winner in the $175,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic and a candidate for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.

The move from a stakes for statebreds at 1 1/8 miles on turf to the $300,000 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles on dirt is a significant leap, but trainer and co-owner Aggie Ordonez said the Big Cap is worth considering.

Nysos and Nevada Beach, first and second in the Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 28, are set to start in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14. Journalism, one of the nation’s leading 3-year-olds in 2025, resumed training earlier this week.

Their absences from the Big Cap changes the outlook for Ordonez.

“That’s huge,” she said.

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The race could draw leading runners from around the nation. Last year, Locked, trained in Florida at the time by Todd Pletcher, won the Big Cap by a record 8 1/2 lengths.

In his stakes debut, Vodka Vodka was third by seven lengths to Nysos in the Pincay. In the Unusual Heat Turf Classic, Vodka Vodka won from a stalking position. He earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure for the victory

“I ran him back a little quick,” Ordonez said. “I didn’t want to bypass an opportunity.”

A seven-week gap between Saturday’s race and a potential start in the Big Cap is a better fit.

“To give him seven weeks is perfect,” she said.

Vodka Vodka, a 5-year-old by Stay Thirsty, has won 4 of 11 starts and earned $359,950. He has won four of his last six starts since returning from the layoff.

Ordonez co-owns Vodka Vodka with a larger partnership that includes breeders Jerry and Connie Baker, and McLean Racing Stables.

The Unusual Heat Turf Classic was Ordonez’s richest stakes win, but not her richest win. On Oct. 31, Vodka Vodka won an allowance race worth $212,650 at 12-1. The race had a base purse of $175,000, but was worth more because of enhancements available for California-breds.

Vodka Vodka’s win in the allowance race was worth $136,500. The win on Saturday was worth $96,250.

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