Taris will prep once more before Breeders’ Cup

DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Simon Callaghan was delighted that Taris returned from a lengthy layoff to win the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Sunday, and now he will focus on the main year-end goal, the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland, where Taris scored the most impressive victory of her career last year in the Grade 2 Raven Run.

Taris was injured in the Grade 1 La Brea at Santa Anita on Dec. 26, required surgery, and had a mere six workouts coming into the Rancho Bernardo.

“My only concern was if that was enough,” Callaghan said. “But she’s just a good filly, simple as that.”

The win was the fifth in seven starts for Taris, 4, whose only loss sprinting came in the La Brea. Callaghan said Taris would return to Santa Anita for her next start, the Grade 3, $100,000 L.A. Woman Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs on Oct. 4, as a final prep for the Breeders’ Cup.