Take A Breath gets her wind up, noses Resolve in Santa Ana Stakes
?q=100)
ARCADIA, Calif. - Take A Breath was cruising along in sixth place on the backstretch of Sunday’s Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes when the longshot Ima Joker loomed to her outside.
The immediate presence of a rival seemed to jolt Take A Breath and her rider, Emisael Jaramillo. Quickly, Take A Breath moved to within range of the leaders, and was on her way to a first stakes win.
Racing wide, Take A Breath caught stretch leader Public Assembly with less than a sixteenth remaining and held off a late threat from a surging Resolve to win the $102,500 Santa Ana Stakes by a nose.
Jaramillo’s aggressive move on the backstretch was arguably the difference, trainer Mark Glatt said.
“I think he moved sooner than he wanted,” Glatt said. “We got the job done. I’m sure he didn’t want to lose his position.”
Take A Breath ($15.60) ran 1 1/4 miles on turf in 2:02.06.
Resolve, a 12-1 outsider who has won once in 17 starts, finished a length in front of 2-1 favorite Mrs. Astor, a six-time stakes winner in the last 16 months.
Public Assembly faded to finish fourth, followed by Paradise Lake, Hey Jessie, Queen Sienna, A Thousand Miles, Starry Night and Ima Joker.
A Thousand Miles set a relatively slow pace of 24.30 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 49.03 for a half-mile, leading by as much as 1 1/2 lengths. She lost her advantage on the turn.
Mrs. Astor was seventh for the first mile and rallied wide to be closest to the front at the finish.
“We had no pace,” trainer Jonathan Thomas said. “She ran very respectable.”
Mrs. Astor won the Astra Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf for fillies and mares on Jan. 19 in her first start of the year.
“I think it’s hard cutting back,” Thomas said.
Thomas said the 6-year-old Mrs. Astor may be retired, with a decision forthcoming later this month.
“We’ll assess her for a week and go from there,” he said.
Take A Breath, a 4-year-old British-bred filly by the Dansili stallion Bated Breath, won for the fourth time in her 13th start on Sunday, and for the first time in six starts in the United States.
Take A Breath was fourth by 1 3/4 lengths in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in her American debut last August, and fourth by two lengths in the Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita on Dec. 28.
In her lone other start this year, Take A Breath was third by a half-length behind Queen Sienna and Resolve in an allowance race at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Jan. 24.
Take A Breath, who races for Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners, has earned $134,670. She was a three-time winner in Britain in 2025 in minor handicaps.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.