Santa Anita: Teddy's Promise returns after summer freshening

ARCADIA, Calif. – Teddy’s Promise was given a two-week break in late July to recover from a three-race campaign during the spring-summer meeting at Betfair Hollywood Park. When she returns to racing in Saturday’s $100,000 L.A. Woman Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares at Santa Anita, trainer Ron Ellis expects a winning effort.

“She’s not out of shape,” Ellis said on Thursday. “She’ll run a good race. I’m feeling pretty darn good about it.”

Owned by her breeders, Ted and Judy Nichols, Teddy’s Promise has won 9 of 25 starts and earned $762,397. Earlier this year, she won the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes here in January and the Time to Leave Stakes at Hollywood Park in May.

Last fall, Teddy’s Promise was eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, but had her preparation interrupted. Ellis said that Teddy’s Promise fought a foot bruise after the 2012 Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting that cost her important training time later in the year.

“She came out of the summer races better this year than last year,” Ellis said. “Last year, she had a bruised foot and I was behind schedule to get her ready for the fall meeting at Santa Anita.”

For the L.A. Woman, Teddy’s Promise has drawn post 6 in a field of seven. Ellis said he prefers that Teddy’s Promise starts from the outside. The race is expected to produce a few starters for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 2.

Ismene, the winner of the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes for 2-year-olds in 2011, and Socialbug, who makes her stakes debut, are drawn to the inside of Teddy’s Promise and are likely to show speed.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Socialbug is unbeaten in two starts, a maiden race and an optional claimer at Del Mar.

“We’ll see where she fits with those,” Baffert said.

Baffert also starts Executiveprivilege, a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding 2-year-old filly of 2012. Executiveprivilege was second to Reneesgotzip in an allowance race at Del Mar on July 18, her first start of 2013.

“At Del Mar, she was doing great and she got sick on me,” Baffert said. “We’re getting her there. She’s had a lot of little setbacks.”

Charm the Maker returns to turf

Charm the Maker, who won the restricted Adoration Stakes on Polytrack at Del Mar on Sept. 1, will attempt to win her first stakes on turf in Saturday’s $70,000 Swingtime Stakes.

The one-mile Swingtime will be Charm the Maker’s first start on turf since she finished fourth in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes here in February.

“She can run on turf and dirt,” trainer Ron McAnally said.

The Adoration Stakes was Charm the Maker’s first win of 2013.

The field of seven in the Swingtime includes Customer Base, who was fifth in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon Handicap at Del Mar on Sept. 2; Miss Empire, second in the Sandy Blue Handicap at Del Mar on Aug. 16; and Magic Union, who won her California debut in an optional claimer at Del Mar on Aug. 25.