Santa Anita: Stormy Lucy finds room along rail to take Santa Ana

ARCADIA, Calif. – Rafael Bejarano had never ridden Stormy Lucy, hadn’t even worked her, but no one does more extensive homework before a race, poring over past performances, getting eye-strain from watching videos. All that preparation paid off on Sunday at Santa Anita, when Bejarano brought Stormy Lucy up the rail to rally for the win in the Grade 2, $200,500 Santa Ana Stakes for female turf runners.

Stormy Lucy ($11) squeezed through along the inside and overcame being inadvertently hit with an opponent’s whip to win the 1 1/8-mile grass race by 1 1/2 lengths over Emotional Kitten. Miss Serendipity was another length back in third.

Eastern invader Emollient, the 4-5 favorite, was fourth, and was followed, in order by Nickels Wild, Topic, and Floral Romance.

Stormy Lucy completed 1 1/8 miles on firm turf in 1:47.11, and did so by rallying into pedestrian fractions of 1:12.11 for six furlongs.

Stormy Lucy was fifth at the top of the lane, and hugged the rail the rest of the way. Bejarano said she hesitated to go through the hole, started to advance, then shied anew when Martin Garcia, on front-runner Nickels Wild, accidentally hit Stormy Lucy across her nose with his whip while whipping left-handed.

“She was a little intimidated at first,” Bejarano said. “I hit her on the shoulder, and she took off. Then she got hit in the face. But then she took off again.”

Stormy Lucy was winning for the sixth time in 21 starts, but this was only her second win in her last 13 starts. She was fifth in the Grade 2 Buena Vista here on Feb. 17, and Bejarano said he thought she had an excuse that day when he watched the tape.

“She didn’t have a good position,” he said.

Frank Lucarelli trains Stormy Lucy for owner Erica Gaunt. Stormy Lucy, 5, is a daughter of Stormy Atlantic.