Taris likely to await Santa Margarita

ARCADIA, Calif. - Taris is unlikely to start again until the $500,000 Santa Margarita Stakes on March 19 after winning her first stakes around two turns in Saturday’s Grade 2 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita.

Trainer Simon Callaghan said the $200,000 Santa Maria Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 13 is a possibility but that the Grade 1 Santa Margarita at 1 1/8 miles has greater appeal because of its prize money and prestige.

“I think we’ll wait for the Grade 1,” Callaghan said. “It’s a long season and we want to pick our spots and concentrate on the Grade 1’s.”

Callaghan said a long-range goal may be the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park. The race at 1 1/16 miles has been run on the undercard of the Belmont Stakes in recent years. This year, the Belmont Stakes is on June 11. The 2015 Ogden Phipps had a purse of $955,000.

A five-time stakes winner, Taris won the $196,250 La Canada Stakes at 1 1/16 miles by 5 1/4 lengths over Birdatthewire, who won the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies in December. The La Canada was the second start at 1 1/16 miles for Taris, who was sixth in the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park in 2014.

Callaghan considered skipping the La Canada after watching what he considered to be a slow racetrack on Saturday morning, but opted for a start after talking with Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who rode the mare.

Taris, a 5-year-old by Flatter, races for Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and John Magnier. She was purchased for $2.35 million at the 2014 Keeneland November breeding sale and has since won three of six starts. In her career, Taris has won 7 of 11 starts and earned $807,700.