Sadler fine with having Ben's Duchess fresh for La Brea

Ben’s Duchess has not raced since winning the Grade 3 L.A. Woman Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 4. This was not the way trainer John Sadler envisioned preparing the 3-year-old filly for the $300,000 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.

“They couldn’t fill a race for her at Del Mar,” he said, referring to the track’s autumn meeting.

As a result, Ben’s Duchess will start in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs after a layoff of 12 weeks. The break between races is not a concern for Sadler, who trains Ben’s Duchess for Doubledown Stables.

“She’s doing great,” he said. “She’s fresh, and her form is very consistent. The thing that I like is that it’s the first time she can run against 3-year-olds for a while.”

Ben’s Duchess, by Munnings, has won 4 of 9 starts and earned $222,936. The L.A. Woman Stakes was her first stakes win. She was second or third in three stakes earlier this year, including her most recent start restricted to 3-year-olds – a third-place finish in the Angels Flight Stakes at Santa Anita last May.

There was talk about a potential start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31, but Sadler said the decision was made to pass the race.

“This will be our Breeders’ Cup,” he said of the La Brea.

Ben’s Duchess is part of a tough field expected for the La Brea, including Cavorting, the winner of the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga in August, and Hot City Girl, a winner of three consecutive stakes at Eastern tracks, including the Safely Kept Stakes at Laurel on Nov. 14. On Friday, Cavorting worked a half-mile in 48 seconds at Santa Anita.

The La Brea is one of two Grade 1 races for 3-year-olds on the Dec. 26 opening-day program, joined by the $300,000 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs. Runhappy, the winner of the BC Sprint on Oct. 31, will be a strong favorite in the Malibu, his first start in California.

Sadler said his stable will be active for the start of the winter-spring meeting, particularly on turf. In a way, he has geared up for the meeting. Sadler won 11 races at Del Mar during the summer and four at the Santa Anita autumn meeting before going winless with 30 starters at the Del Mar fall meeting. Sadler has taken a low-key approach to the Los Alamitos meeting that ends Sunday, with one win from two runners through Thursday.

“We were slow in the last quarter,” he said. “We have a lot of grass horses. We’ll ease into the year.”