Paradise Woods tries turf in Osunitas Stakes

DEL MAR, Calif. – For a two-time Grade 1 winner last year, Paradise Woods has been in a rut this season, with losses in two graded stakes at Santa Anita. A move to turf could revive her career.

On Friday, Paradise Woods will race on grass for the first time in the $75,000 Osunitas Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar.

“It will be interesting to see,” trainer Richard Mandella said.

Paradise Woods, who will be ridden by Flavien Prat, drew the rail in a full field of 12.

KEY CONTENDERS

Paradise Woods, by Union Rags
Last 3 Beyers: 89-92-97

◗ Owned by Marty and Pam Wygod and Steve Sarkowsky, Paradise Woods was third in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita on June 2, setting the pace before fading to lose by 7 3/4 lengths to the 2017 champion female sprinter, Unique Bella. Paradise Woods typically races near the front, which may have cost her in that race, Mandella said.

“We kind of sacrificed her,” he said. “We thought the thing to do was let her do what she wanted. She got a little carried away with how fast she went. The gray mare is a monster.”

◗ Paradise Woods could be part of a quick pace in the Osunitas, which is a concern for Mandella.

“I wish all that speed wasn’t in there,” Mandella said.

◗ Paradise Woods has a pedigree that suggests she can handle turf. Her half-brother Forest Chatter was a stakes winner on turf at Santa Anita in 2015.

Compelled, by War Front
Last 3 Beyers: 92-79-80

◗ Compelled was third in the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on May 28, finishing behind the multiple stakes winners Belvoir Bay and Ancient Secret. Drayden Van Dyke rode Compelled for the first time in the Monrovia and thought the distance may have been too short considering the competition.

“She’s a classy filly,” Van Dyke said. “She ran her race and got beat by two good horses. She was all out to keep up.”

◗ Trained by Tom Proctor, Compelled has won turf stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs and a mile. She is a threat from off the pace.

Fahan Mura, by English Channel
Last 3 Beyers: 93-95-93

◗ A confirmed front-runner, Fahan Mura won four consecutive races from January to May at Santa Anita before finishing sixth in the Grade 2 New York Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Belmont Park on June 8.

Fahan Mura led by as many as eight lengths through a quick pace of 46.39 seconds for the first half-mile.

“I would have been happy with the mile and a quarter if she’d gone 48,” trainer Vladimir Cerin said. “She might have been more comfortable at the end of the race.”