Santa Monica catches stablemate Inflexibility in Dance Smartly

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - A pair of Chad Brown trainees from New York, Santa Monica and Inflexibility, ran one-two in Saturday’s Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes, with the Santa Monica coming out on top in the 10-furlong event for fillies and mares.

Inflexibility dragged Javier Castellano to the lead on the backstretch, and they set honest fractions over the firm ground. Santa Monica bided her time in eighth before Jose Ortiz angled her wide for the drive.

Santa Monica ($9.30) closed powerfully down the center of the stretch, catching Inflexibility at the sixteenth pole en route to a half-length score. Holy Helena, the 2017 Queen’s Plate winner, rallied belatedly for third. She was followed by Bletchley, Liberty Kitten, Starship Jubilee, Mythical Mission, Saba, and Dream Dancing.

The final time was 1:59.51.

“She was very nice today,” said Ortiz of Santa Monica, a British-bred 5-year-old by Mastercraftsman. “She put me into a good position. When I guided her into the clear, she exploded. She’s a filly that will go way longer than this. A mile and three-eighths or a mile and a half should be very nice for her.”

Santa Monica banked $105,000 of the $186,500 purse for owners Susan Magnier, Madaket Stables, and Deron Pearson.