Tara's Tango, Taris set sights on different goals

ARCADIA, Calif. – Tara’s Tango and Taris, the one-two finishers in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, both came out of the race well, but will head in different directions for their next starts.

Tara’s Tango will remain around two turns, with the Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 15 at Oaklawn Park under serious consideration, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Sunday morning. The 1 1/8-mile Santa Margarita was her first Grade 1 win.

Taris will shorten up to try and get her first Grade 1 win, with the seven-furlong Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, May 7, her likely next start, according to her trainer, Simon Callaghan.

Callaghan said Taris also would be nominated to the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs going 1 1/16 miles on May 6, but he seemed to be leaning toward the shorter race. The purse for both races is $300,000.

“You can’t say she doesn’t get the distance, but maybe she’s a touch more vulnerable going longer,” Callaghan said.

Taris has been in the top three in three Grade 1 races. She was second in the Grade 1 La Brea here in December 2014 – from which she emerged with a leg fracture -- was third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint last fall after starting from an inside post, and second in the Santa Margarita.

“She’s building up a nice resume,” Callaghan said. “She always turns up. She might have won the La Brea if she didn’t get hurt. In the Breeders’ Cup, she was compromised by her post. And she ran a great race [Saturday].”