Paradise Woods targets Zenyatta Stakes

Paradise Woods, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks in April but soundly beaten in her last two starts, will have her debut against older fillies and mares in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 30.

Trainer Richard Mandella said on Thursday that he prefers the $300,000 Zenyatta Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for the 3-year-old Paradise Woods over the Grade 3 L.A. Woman Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs on Oct. 8. The distance of the Zenyatta was a leading factor, he said.

“I was thinking she needed to drop back [in distance], but I think we’ll go with our first plan,” Mandella said.

The Zenyatta Stakes is a key prep for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 3. The winner of the Zenyatta receives a fees-paid berth in the BC Distaff, which is run at 1 1/8 miles.

Owned by Marty and Pam Wygod and Steve Sarkowsky, Paradise Woods has won 2 of 5 starts and earned $293,545. After winning the Santa Anita Oaks at 1 1/16 miles by 11 1/4 lengths, Paradise Woods set the pace before fading to 11th as the 6-5 favorite in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5.

Paradise Woods has had one subsequent race, stumbling after the start and finishing sixth of seven in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile at Del Mar on Aug. 27.

In the Zenyatta, Paradise Woods will be opposed by two formidable 5-year-old mares – Shenandoah Queen and Vale Dori.

Shenandoah Queen, trained by John Sadler, won the restricted Tranquility Lake Stakes at a mile in her stakes debut at Del Mar on Aug. 25. Vale Dori, trained by Bob Baffert, won four consecutive graded stakes at Santa Anita this year and later was second by a neck to the Sadler-trained Stellar Wind in two Grade 1 races – the Beholder Mile at Santa Anita on June 3 and the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on July 30.

The Zenyatta Stakes is one of five Grade 1 races, each worth $300,000, at Santa Anita on Sept. 30, the second day of the track’s autumn meeting. The Grade 1 races are part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering fees-paid berths in Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 3-4.

The other Grade 1 stakes on Sept. 30 are the Awesome Again Stakes for 3-year-olds and up (leading to the BC Classic), Chandelier Stakes for 2-year-old fillies (BC Juvenile Fillies), FrontRunner Stakes for 2-year-olds (BC Juvenile), and Rodeo Drive for fillies and mares on turf (BC Filly and Mare Turf).