Switch back to dirt favors American Lily

After three successful races on dirt last fall, American Lily was tried on turf at Santa Anita on Dec. 30. It did not go as planned. American Lily faded from contention to finish ninth, the first time she had been worse than third in her four starts.

On Sunday at Santa Anita, the 4-year-old American Lily has an excellent chance for her third win when she runs in an allowance race for fillies and mares at six furlongs on dirt.

“She’s never run a bad race on the main track,” trainer Peter Miller said on Friday. “She didn’t care for the grass. It was kind of wet and she was stumbling around on it.”

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets.

American Lily is quick and likely to be prominent from the start in Sunday’s allowance race, which drew a field of eight. Leading jockey Juan Hernandez rides American Lily for the first time from post 7.

“She’s got a nice outside draw,” Miller said. “Juan can see what’s going on and adjust from there.”

Manorelli, second in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs on Dec. 31, and Princess Adaleigh, who led throughout a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Golden Gate Fields in November, may also be near the front.

Manorelli was a 26-1 outsider in a field of eight in the Las Flores. She disputed a quick pace, but could not hold off a late run from Lady T, who won by 1 1/4 lengths.

Trained by Luis Mendez, Manorelli had her second start after a layoff of nearly eight months in the Las Flores. Last winter, Manorelli was second and third in two two-turn stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Sunland Park.

American Lily, who races for owner and breeder Kaleem Shah, has raced near the front in all of her starts. She won her first two races by disputing the pace and pulling clear in the final furlong to win by six and five lengths.

Youteyourhonor, the winner of a $40,000 claimer as a stalker in her last start on Nov. 13, and the expensive purchase Lasting Love can be factors in the stretch.

Youteyourhonor, stakes-placed against statebred 3-year-old fillies last year, has a consistent closing style that has led to five wins in 12 starts.

Lasting Love was bought for $440,000 at a 2-year-olds in-training sale in 2021, and won her debut in a $50,000 claimer for maidens at Los Alamitos on Dec. 18. Trained by Simon Callaghan, Lasting Love closed from fourth in a field of seven to win by 4 1/2 lengths, overcoming traffic issues in the six-furlong race.

“She was impressive against a pretty bad group of horses,” Callaghan said. “She couldn’t do any more than win impressively and easily.

“She’s a huge filly. She should keep improving. This is a step up in class against some hard-knocking, experienced fillies. We can see how she runs against better competition.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.