Self Isolation debuts in first juvenile race of 2020 in Southern California

The well-named Self Isolation will have her debut in a maiden special weight race at 4 1/2 furlongs for 2-year-old fillies on Sunday at Santa Anita, the first race of the year for juveniles in Southern California.

Trainer Doug O’Neill said Friday that Self Isolation may live up to her name at the start, but has shown sufficient interest in the latter part of recent workouts to expect her to perform well against five rivals.

Self Isolation, owned by breeders Paul and Zillah Reddam, will break from post 5 and will be ridden by Mario Gutierrez.

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“She’s a good-sized filly and she’s very level-headed,” O’Neill said. “She hasn’t shown a tremendous amount of gate speed, so I’m glad she drew outside. They might run away from her early, but she has showed a lot of ability and can be right there at the wire.

“She acts like she can run.”

At the start, Self Isolation will be surrounded by fillies with solid recent works. Judy With Grace, who starts from post 4, worked a half-mile from the gate in 48.40 seconds for trainer Ron Ellis on May 8. Miz Lola La Dare, who starts from the outside, worked a half-mile from the gate in 47.80 on May 8 at Los Alamitos for trainer Patricia Harrington.

Others in the field include Love Wins, who has had several fast workouts for trainer Luis Mendez at Dixie Downs training center in Utah and at Santa Anita. Miss Glorious (trained by Andrew Lerner) and Koko’s Mom (Charles Stutts) start from the inside two post positions.