Samurai Charm at her best for Las Flores
ARCADIA, Calif. – Because the filly-mare sprint division only receives scant attention in winter, a change to the Santa Anita stakes schedule might go unnoticed Saturday.
Bettors, however, will not overlook conspicuous entrant Samurai Charm in the Grade 3 Las Flores, previously run in March or April. This year, the six-furlong Las Flores moves to December and replaces the ungraded Kalookan Queen Stakes, which is discontinued.
A modest field of eight entered the $100,000 Las Flores, race 8. Based on recent class, figures that top the field, and an up-front style in a race light on speed, Samurai Charm should be favored over graded stakes-placed Lady T, stakes-placed Manorelli, and allowance winner Anacapa.
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Samurai Charm is the field’s only stakes winner. She won two sprint stakes in fall at Zia Park for owner-breeders Kirk and Judy Robison. They considered retiring the 5-year-old mare, but she will remain a racemare for now. Good news for trainer Peter Miller.
“At this point, Mr. Robison wants to run her as a 6-year-old,” Miller said. “He was considering breeding her to Jackie’s Warrior, but if she remains in good form, I think he’ll run her [at 6]. If not, then she’ll be bred to Jackie’s Warrior.”
Robison raced champion sprinter and five-time Grade 1 winner Jackie’s Warrior, who will stand his first season in spring at Spendthrift Farm. As for Samurai Charm, she has never been better. A minor stakes winner in 2021, she enters the Las Flores off the two best races of her career.
What changed? “It could be the easier competition over there [Zia Park], that’s probably the most likely thing,” Miller said. “And she obviously liked that racetrack.”
Based in Southern California, Samurai Charm won the Chavez City and Zia Distaff at Zia with career-high Beyers of 90 and 92. She is fresh into Saturday.
“We gave her a short break after her last race [Nov. 22], a couple weeks off,” Miller said. “She doing very well, so I expect her to run a big race.”
Samurai Charm is more than just a Zia specialist. She also placed this year in the Grade 3 Desert Stormer at Santa Anita and Grade 2 Great Lady M. at Los Alamitos. Flavien Prat rides 7-for-13 Samurai Charm, who is likely to set or press the pace.
Lady T nominated to the Grade 1 La Brea on Dec. 26, but the timing was wrong after her recent second-place comeback. Trainer John Shirreffs worked her five furlongs Dec. 24 and targeted the Las Flores. Runner-up in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks in June, late-runner Lady T will be ridden by Victor Espinoza.
Even though Lady T has just one win and six seconds from 10 starts, Shirreffs believes the Into Mischief filly has upside. “She could blossom. She has that potential,” he said.
Comebacker Classical Romance was supplemented for $2,000. The field also includes Lexington Humor, Violent Runner, and Doris Mae. The next filly-mare sprint stakes at Santa Anita is the Grade 2, seven-furlong Santa Monica on Feb. 4.
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