Rattataptap will try route in Santa Ysabel

ARCADIA, Calif. – Two sprint wins in three starts since late November have resulted in Rattataptap’s entry in Saturday’s $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita.

The Grade 3 Santa Ysabel is run at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-old fillies and will be the longest race of Rattataptap’s career. As a test of stamina, the Santa Ysabel Stakes is likely to determine whether Rattataptap’s season will focus on sprints or two-turn races.

“It’s time to find out,” trainer Jeff Bonde said this week.

Owned by Mark Dedomenico, Jerry Durant, and Michael House, Rattataptap cost $250,000 at the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale and ran like a valuable filly in an optional claimer at six furlongs Jan. 29. She led throughout and pulled clear through the stretch to win by 4 3/4 lengths.

“The filly had a really good finish in her last race,” Bonde said.

The win erased the disappointment of an eighth-place finish in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs Jan. 3. Rattataptap hopped at the start and never was in contention.

The Santa Ysabel is a prep for the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks on April 4. Rattataptap, by Tapit, is part of a projected field of seven in the Santa Ysabel, including Achiever’s Legacy, Enchanting Lady, Glory, Light the City, Rainha Da Bateria, and Stellar Wind.

Enchanting Lady, trained by Bob Baffert, has not raced since winning the Landaluce Stakes at Santa Anita last June.