Super Patriot breaks through with first stakes win in Fran's Valentine

Super Patriot, claimed for $35,000 last June, won the first stakes of her career in her 28th start in Saturday’s $100,500 Fran’s Valentine Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Santa Anita.

Ridden confidently by Flavien Prat, Super Patriot ($5) closed from last in a field of six with a wide rally to finish 1 3/4 lengths in front of 7-2 Sedamar, who had won her last two starts in allowance races with claiming options.

Sedamar finished a half-length in front of 2-1 Warren’s Showtime, the only 3-year-old in the field of six.

Super Patriot was timed in 1:35.66 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 92. Prat hand-rode Super Patriot to the wire.

:: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more.

Cordiality, who had not started since a win in the 2019 Fran’s Valentine Stakes, set a slow pace of 24.03 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.22 for a half-mile. Sedamar, second early, took the lead in the stretch briefly before being challenged by Super Patriot.

Owned by a partnership that includes Little Red Feather Racing, Jeremy Peskoff, Jose Ramos, Raymond Salvator, and trainer Richard Baltas, Super Patriot has won 3 of 7 starts and earned $214,180 since she was claimed.

Spectators, including owners, cannot attend races at Santa Anita during the coronavirus outbreak. Billy Koch, the managing director of the Little Red Feather Racing partnership, said a group of 22 owners and friends watched the race together on a Zoom call.

“Even though we couldn’t be there, it was exciting,” he said. “We tried to pretend like we were there. It’s great to have something good happen considering the situation that we’re in.”

Last fall, Super Patriot was second by a nose in the restricted Kathryn Crosby Stakes at Del Mar. Earlier this year, Super Patriot was second in the Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes in January in her graded stakes debut and seventh in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes in February.

A 5-year-old mare by Unusual Heat, Super Patriot has won 6 of 28 starts and earned $353,954. She was purchased for $195,000 at the 2017 Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds in-training at Del Mar and was trained by Bob Baffert until she was claimed.