Prat travels across the country to ride Bellafina in debut

CYPRESS, Calif. – The 2-year-old Bellafina is held in such high regard that jockey Flavien Prat is flying in from New York to ride the filly in her debut at Los Alamitos on Wednesday.

Prat, the leading rider at the Santa Anita spring-summer meeting, has no other mounts on Wednesday’s nine-race program.

Trained by Simon Callaghan for Kaleem Shah, Bellafina drew the rail in a maiden special weight race at five furlongs. The field of seven includes five other first-time starters.

“She’s been training very well,” Callaghan said last weekend. “She’s a filly that shows us good talent in the mornings. We’re expecting her to run well.”

By Quality Road, Bellafina was purchased for $800,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale of 2-year-olds in training in March.

Callaghan said race strategy will depend on the start.

“We’ll play the break,” he said. “We’ll leave it to Flavien and go from there. He’s breezed her, and he’s very keen to be available to ride.”

Bellafina is a full sister to the two-time stakes winner Diamond King, who has earned $237,600 and was seventh in the Preakness Stakes in May.

There are two other notable first-time runners in the maiden race, Keeper Ofthe Stars and Lil Miss Moppet.

Keeper Ofthe Stars, a Midnight Lute filly trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, was purchased for $180,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale. Keeper Ofthe Stars has worked quickly at Los Alamitos, notably five furlongs in 59.20 seconds from the gate on June 22.

Lil Miss Moppet, an Uncle Mo filly trained by Bob Baffert, was purchased for $400,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. auction of 2-year-olds in training in March. Lil Miss Moppet is out of Winiliscious, a 10-time winner who was second in stakes at Delaware Park and Monmouth Park in 2012 and 2013.

The Los Alamitos summer meeting that began last week has already produced one exciting 2-year-old in Instagrand, who won his debut by 10 lengths in a five-furlong race on June 29.

Owned by Larry Best’s OXO Equine, Instagrand led throughout and finished in a hand-timed 56 seconds under jockey Drayden Van Dyke, who had been aboard the colt in recent workouts. Instagrand earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88.

“He’s been improving every workout,” Hollendorfer said. “We knew he could run.”

Instagrand will be considered for the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes, a $200,000 race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 11, Hollendorfer said.

Instagrand was purchased for $1.2 million at the Gulfstream Park sale, equaling the most expensive price of the sale.