Santa Barbara tough to trust in Pretty Polly at The Curragh
In her brief career, Santa Barbara’s reputation has far outpaced her performance, and she once again is an early favorite for an important overseas race, this time the Group 1 Pretty Polly on Sunday at The Curragh.
Off a debut win at age 2, Santa Barbara was the 5-2 favorite for the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May, and after she finished fourth in that race, it was believed she merely needed more distance than that straight-course mile to shine. Accordingly, Santa Barbara went favored at 5-2 in the 1 1/2-mile Oaks at Epsom on June 4 – where she finished fifth.
Is the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly actually notably good? Someone is keeping the faith because Santa Barbara as of Friday was favored at – you guessed it – 5-2 for the Pretty Polly. Ryan Moore has the mount for Aidan O’Brien, who trained Magical to win the 2020 Pretty Polly. The Curragh course as of Friday was rated “good,” which Santa Barbara should find agreeable, but taking a short price on a filly who so far has failed to live up to the hype seems unwise.
Two other O’Briens – Aidan’s sons Donnacha and Joseph – have Pretty Polly entrants, and Thundering Nights, trained by Joseph O’Brien, looks live in this 1 1/4-mile contest. Thundering Nights just saw action June 4 at Belmont, where she rallied strongly and missed catching Mean Mary by a nose in the New York Stakes, another 1 1/4-mile race. In her only previous start this year, Thundering Nights finished second by a half-length to Broome, a rock-solid older male who last week finished a fine second in the Group 2 Hardwicke at Royal Ascot. Thundering Nights might prefer a softer course but appears to handle a range of conditions.
Donnacha O’Brien starts Shale, whose best form last year at 2 came over good going, but neither she nor the filly with whom she kept trading decisions in 2020, Pretty Gorgeous, appear to have developed into top 3-year-olds.
Finally, Cayenne Pepper has to merit serious consideration. Trained in Ireland by Jessica Harrington, 4-year-old Cayenne Pepper finished a flat 10th last fall at Keeneland in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, but she is a better horse than that. Cayenne Pepper was a course-and-distance winner over good going in the Group 2 Blandford last Sept. 13 and caught a heavy, laboring course in her lone start this season.
The Pretty Polly, scheduled to go at 10:40 a.m. Eastern, is the fifth race on a multi-stakes card that starts at 8:30 and is part of the DRFBets wagering menu.