Stormy Lucy pays quick dividend in Santa Barbara

ARCADIA, Calif. - When Stormy Lucy was bought privately by Steve Moger and his brother, trainer Ed Moger Jr., last month, the $150,750 Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita on Sunday was an obvious next goal.

The Santa Barbara provided the Mogers with a quick return on their investment.

Stormy Lucy ($5.40) closed from sixth in the last quarter-mile to win the Grade 3 Santa Barbara Handicap by a neck over 7-2 Miss Serendipity. Changethechannel, a 12-1 shot, finished third in the field of eight fillies and mares.

Stormy Lucy ran 1 1/4 miles on turf in 1:58.73.

“We knew buying her that we had a good chance that she’d be favored,” Ed Moger Jr. said. “She was in good shape when we got her. I tried to maintain it.”

Stormy Lucy was previously trained by Frank Lucarelli.

In the Santa Barbara, Stormy Lucy was fifth for the first six furlongs under jockey Rafael Bejarano, racing off the rail and about three lengths behind Phonybooksnrecords, who set an early pace of 23.73 and 47.58 seconds. Bejarano guided Stormy Lucy wide on the turn, but they still trailed by 3 1/2 lengths with a quarter-mile remaining.

Stormy Lucy was a length behind stretch leader Miss Serendipity with a furlong to go, and took the lead in the final strides. The Santa Barbara Handicap was Stormy Lucy’s second stakes win of the year. Bejarano rode the 5-year-old mare to a win in the Grade 2 Santa Ana Stakes over 1 1/8 miles on March 16.

“She was more relaxed than last time,” Bejarano said. “She was very comfortable the whole way. I wanted to be clear in the stretch. I lost a little ground, but she showed a big kick.”

Champagneandcaviar finished fourth, followed by Phonybooksnrecords, Floral Romance, Topic, and Customer Base.

Stormy Lucy has won 7 of 22 starts and earned $482,200. The next goal is the $300,000 Gamely Stakes over 1 1/8 miles on turf on May 26, according to Ed Moger Jr. The race was previously run at Hollywood Park, which closed permanently last December.