Sadler mulls next-race options for Stellar Wind

ARCADIA, Calif. - Stellar Wind and Tara’s Tango were separated by a nose in Saturday’s $200,250 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita. They may be on the same course through the summer.

Both are expected to start during the Del Mar summer meeting, and could meet again in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles at Parx Racing on Sept. 19.

How they get there remains to be seen. Sunday, trainer John Sadler said he is weighing options for Stellar Wind, who won the third stakes of her career in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks for 3-year-old fillies.

Potential races include a start against older fillies and mares in the $300,000 Clement Hirsch Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 1, or an initial start on turf in the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks at 1 1/8 miles on Aug. 15. Ultimately, Sadler would like to start Stellar Wind in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

“The concern is if you’re going to go to the Breeders’ Cup, how many times do you want to travel?” Sadler said. “Maybe if you go to Parx, you don’t come back. I like that track and the layout.”

Stellar Wind, who races for Pete and Kosta Hronis, has won 4 of 6 starts and earned $493,200. She won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on April 4, but was fourth as the 3-1 favorite in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 1.

In the Summertime Oaks, Stellar Wind closed from fourth in a field of six to score a narrow win.

“She’s been so good for us,” Sadler said. “It was a quality performance against a very good horse. I like the way she stuck her head down and won it.”

Tara’s Tango, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, is eligible for an allowance race, with one win in four career starts. She has been second in three consecutive stakes this year, but the Summertime Oaks was her first start in a graded stakes.

Dan Ward, Hollendorfer’s assistant, said the Cotillion is a long-term goal.