Tribal Spy always tough down the hill
ARCADIA, Calif. – In early spring, Tribal Spy was unbeatable on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita, winning the Irish O’Brien Stakes and the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes in consecutive starts.
The toll of the campaign caught up with her when she finished fourth in the Mizdirection Stakes in late May.
After a quiet fourth in the Daisycutter Handicap on the Polytrack at Del Mar in August, Tribal Spy is back on the hillside in Saturday’s $100,000 California Distaff Handicap. Trainer Adam Kitchingman is hoping that Tribal Spy will win for the fourth time in the last year in the 6 1/2-furlong California Distaff.
“She does well off a rest, and she’s coming into this race well,” he said Thursday.
Owned by Triple B Farms, Tribal Spy is part of a field of 12 in the California Distaff Handicap, for California-bred fillies and mares. Smoove It is on the also-eligible list.
Tribal Spy has won 6 of 17 starts and $148,314. She is one of five stakes winners in the field, along with Ciao Bella Luna, Go West Marie, Qiaona, and Warren’s Veneda.
KEY CONTENDERS
Tribal Spy (Last 3 Beyers: 67-83-93)
◗ Tribal Spy is a danger from the front or just off the pace.
◗ She has won 3 of 7 starts on the hillside turf course.
◗ Kitchingman was disappointed that Tribal Spy finished fourth in the Daisycutter but said she had only three workouts before the race, including one that was disrupted by a loose horse.
“It was a last-minute decision to run her there,” Kitchingman said. “She wasn’t quite fit.”
Ciao Bella Luna (Last 3 Beyers: 83-86-88)
◗ Ciao Bella Luna was purchased for $250,000 at the paddock sale at Del Mar in July as a broodmare prospect.
◗ She is trained by Leonard Powell and owned by the SF Racing syndicate.
◗ Ciao Bella Luna has not raced since finishing fifth in the Las Cienegas Stakes here last April.
“She seems like she’s nice to be around,” Powell said. “From what I’ve seen, I think she’s ready.”
Qiaona (Last 3 Beyers: 85-67-85)
◗ Qiaona won the 2013 California Distaff Handicap but is winless in five subsequent starts.
◗ She was second to Heat Du Jour in the Solana Beach Handicap over a mile on turf at Del Mar in August and third in the Mizdirection Stakes in May in her first start of the year.
Global Hottie (Last 3 Beyers: 83-81-73)
◗ Trained by Bob Baffert, Global Hottie has run three times but never on turf or in a stakes.
◗ She won a maiden race at Hollywood Park last November and an optional claimer for California-breds at Los Alamitos on Sept. 18.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Global Hottie. Trainer Bob Baffert is 10-0-1-1 in the past five years going from dirt to downhill sprints at Santa Anita. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 6 Heat Trap. Trainer Carla Gaines is 9-4-1-1 with a $3.73 ROI over the past five years going from synthetic to downhill sprints at Santa Anita. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan