Santa Anita: Tiz Flirtatious to skip Santa Barbara Handicap, target Gamely Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Tiz Flirtatious, the winner of the Grade 2 Santa Ana Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday, will make her next start in the $250,000 Gamely Stakes at Betfair Hollywood Park on May 27, trainer Marty Jones said.

Jones said Tuesday that Tiz Flirtatious will not run in the $150,000 Santa Barbara Handicap over 1 1/4 miles on turf April 20, the final race for the division at the Santa Anita meeting.

“I think we’ll skip that,” Jones said.

He said the decision “is more about the timing. We’d like to point her to some of the Grade 1 races this year.”

The Grade 1 Gamely is run over 1 1/8 miles on turf and is the top race for fillies and mares at the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting.

Owned by breeder Pamela Ziebarth, Tiz Flirtatious, 5, won her first graded stakes in the Santa Ana over 1 1/8 miles, finishing a length in front of even-money favorite Lady of Shamrock.

The Santa Ana was the fourth career stakes win for Tiz Flirtatious, who has won three stakes for California-breds. A winner of 6 of 9 starts and $424,800, Tiz Flirtatious was second in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes over a mile on turf at Hollywood Park last fall.

Jones said Tiz Flirtatious will race over 1 1/4 miles on turf later this season.

“We’d be looking to run her a little further,” he said. “She seems to be learning how to settle. Her races this year have been better. She’s doing better, and she’s going the right way. I think the mile and a quarter is something that she can do.”