Splendora surges late in inaugural D. Wayne Lukas Stakes
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ARCADIA, Calif. - The first running of the Grade 2 D. Wayne Lukas Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday was the fourth consecutive win for the star mare Splendora, her first start since a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar in November.
Splendora ($2.80) was expected to win Saturday’s seven-furlong race for fillies and mares and performed to those predictions, pulling clear in the final furlong by 1 3/4 lengths.
The $200,500 Lukas Stakes was previously known as the Santa Monica Stakes, and was renamed last year in honor of the late Hall of Fame trainer.
Splendora, ridden by Juan Hernandez for trainer Bob Baffert, overcame an awkward start to race in third on the backstretch, about a length behind pacesetter Me and Molly McGee. Urged into contention on the turn, Splendora caught 10-1 Me and Molly McGee in early stretch and had a half-length advantage with a furlong remaining.
“She kind of broke a step slow, but after that she recovered very well,” Hernandez said. “She got in position at around the three-eighths pole. She just ran on her own today.”
Splendora ran seven furlongs in 1:22.09 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 96.
“He rode her with a lot of confidence,” Baffert said of Hernandez.
Me and Molly McGee held second in her first start since a last-place finish in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies in the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga last August. Ridden by Hector Berrios, Me and Molly McGee set an early pace of 22.78 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.63 for a half-mile in the Lukas Stakes.
“She’s very fast,” Berrios said. “She was comfortable.”
Formula Rossa, second to the Baffert-trained Usha in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita on Dec. 28, finished third after racing in second on the backstretch.
Lemon Muffin finished fourth, followed by Irina’s Charm and No Bad Beats. Simply Joking, third in the La Brea, was withdrawn earlier Saturday.
Splendora, a 5-year-old mare by Audible, races for Michael Talla. Splendora has won 6 of 11 starts, and earned $980,800.
Prior to the win by 4 3/4 lengths in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint, Splendora won an allowance race at Del Mar in July and the restricted Tranquility Lake Stakes there in September. She has won those four races by a combined 15 1/2 lengths.
In early 2024, Splendora was fourth in the Santa Monica Stakes. She is not the same filly this year, Baffert said. The Lukas Stakes was Splendora’s third stakes win.
“She’s really improved,” he said. “She’s just a really good horse.”
Splendora gave Baffert a record eighth win in the Santa Monica or Lukas Stakes. Lukas, who won 145 stakes at Santa Anita winter-spring meetings, won the Santa Monica Stakes six times from 1980 to 1996.
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