Shes'a Perfectlady will be taken back in turf sprint

Sit back and go. That will be the strategy for Shes’a Perfectlady in an allowance race for fillies and mares at six furlongs on turf Sunday at Santa Anita.

“She’s more of a one-run filly,” trainer John Sadler said Friday. “We think the six furlongs will work well for her.”

Shes’a Perfectlady won her 2022 debut in a starter allowance at six furlongs on turf in March, closing from third. A 5-year-old mare, Shes’a Perfectlady did not start again until she finished third in an allowance race at five furlongs on turf Aug. 27 at Del Mar, closing from off the pace.

Owned by the partnership of the Batchelor Family Trust and Cicero Farms, Shes’a Perfectlady was fourth in an allowance race at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course on Oct. 2 at Santa Anita, disputing the pace before fading to finish fourth by 1 1/2 lengths.

“She ran well at Del Mar,” Sadler said. “The other day she was a little close.”

In Sunday’s allowance race, Shes’a Perfectlady is part of a field of nine and is well drawn for her running style in post 7. Juan Hernandez, who was aboard for the March and October races, has the mount.

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The allowance race will test the stamina of Baby Steps, who set the pace Aug. 27 at Del Mar and held second, finishing three-quarters of a length in front of Shes’a Perfectlady.

“I think she’s better going five-eighths, but this is what we have right now,” trainer Ryan Hanson said.

Hanson has a particular concern about the way Baby Steps handles the dirt crossing shortly after the start of six-furlong races on the flat turf course at Santa Anita. The crossing comes with about five furlongs remaining.

“She doesn’t do nearly as good crossing the dirt,” he said.

Owned by California Racing Partners, Joe Ciaglia, and Richard Pearson, Baby Steps is winless in eight starts this year, but was third in the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes at a mile on turf in May.

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Baby Steps typically races near the front and figures to be prominent again under jockey Edwin Maldonado, who has been aboard for her last two starts.

“She’s a very versatile filly,” Hanson said. “She’s very sharp from the gate and puts herself in a good spot.”

In Sunday’s race, Baby Steps may face an early challenge from Secrets Told and Woodbine Way, who have set the pace at times in recent starts.

A quick pace will help Tom’s Beauty, who was fourth in the Aug. 27 race in her first start in nearly 11 months. Tom’s Beauty raced briefly in traffic on the turn and closed from seventh in the final furlong to finish two lengths behind winner Lexington Humor.

The winner of a maiden special weight race at five furlongs at Del Mar last November, Tom’s Beauty will start at six furlongs for the first time Sunday.

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