ARCADIA, Calif. - Princesa Moche needed a sustained run through the stretch in Saturday’s Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes on turf at Santa Anita to catch pacesetter Going Lucky and hold off threats from Will Then and Vibez for her first American stakes win. Sent off favored, Princesa Moche ($7) was well placed throughout the one-mile race for fillies and mares. Ridden by Mirco Demuro, Princesa Moche stalked Going Lucky before reaching contention with a two-wide move in early stretch. Princesa Moche took the lead with less than a furlong remaining, grudgingly getting by Will Then and edging 9-2 Vibez by a neck. “She has a big heart,” Demuro said of Princesa Moche. “She has a lot of fight.” Princesa Moche was timed in 1:36.09 and won the richest race of her 39-race career in the $102,000 Megahertz Stakes. Princesa Moche earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 84. Vibez, winner of the restricted Swingtime Stakes at a mile on turf for fillies and mares at Santa Anita in October, closed from seventh in a field of nine, and finished a neck in front of 4-1 Will Then. Juan Hernandez rode Vibez, who edged Will Then in the final few strides. “She finished very strong,” Hernandez said of Vibez. “I was having a hard time passing the horse in front of me. We just lost the bob.” Will Then was followed by Public Assembly, Going Lucky, Sigh No More, My Perfect Wave, Baltic Fire and Violeta M. Princesa Moche, a 6-year-old Peruvian-bred mare by the Oasis Dream stallion Muwaary, won for the 12th time on Saturday. Princesa Moche was a nine-time winner in Peru, including two minor stakes, at distances ranging from five furlongs to a mile. Princesa Moche won her final three starts in Peru in turf sprints last May and June, and had her American debut for current trainer Doug O’Neill at Del Mar in August, finishing seventh of nine in an allowance race. Princesa Moche won her third start in the United States in an allowance race on the hillside turf course at 17-1 on Oct. 26, and won an allowance race at a mile on turf at Del Mar at 19-1 a mere 13 days later. Princesa Moche was second by a half-length in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes on the hillside turf course on Jan. 11 in her first start since the win in early November. Demuro has ridden Princesa Moche in her last four starts. He said her attitude differs greatly from workouts to races. “In the morning, she pulls a lot,” Demuro said. “She wants to breeze every day. “She’s better to ride in the races.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.