Tam's Little Angel notches first stakes victory with She's a Tiger
Tam’s Little Angel set a slow pace and held off a late threat from Buyback to win her first stakes in Saturday’s $77,250 She’s a Tiger Stakes for fillies and mares at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif.
Ridden by Catalino Martinez, Tam’s Little Angel race 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.91 for her third win in her last four starts.
The winning streak was disrupted by a third-place finish in the Campanile Stakes for statebred 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf on May 1. Tam’s Little Angel won allowance races at Golden Gate Fields on April 3 and May 22 in the spring.
In the She’s a Tiger Stakes, Tam’s Little Angel ($18.60) was helped by a slow pace of 24.44 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.62 for a half-mile.
Tam’s Little Angel was challenged by 9-2 Day Plan on the turn and in the stretch, leading by a head with a furlong remaining. Buyback (9-2) closed from a stalking position along the rail on the backstretch to reach contention with a wide rally in the stretch. Buyback closed steadily to narrowly miss catching Tam’s Little Angel, finishing second by a nose.
Day Plan finished third in the field of 10, three-quarters of a length behind Tam’s Little Angel. Anthonys Cleopatra, the 9-5 favorite, broke slowly and was never a factor.
Tam’s Little Angel, by Tamarando, races for owners and breeders Larry and Marianne Williams and trainer Steve Specht. Tam’s Little Angel has won 4 of 10 starts and earned $155,972.