Unique Bella makes 4-year-old debut in Santa Maria
ARCADIA, Calif. - Unique Bella, the champion female sprinter of 2017, will be heavily favored in her 4-year-old debut in Saturday’s Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares at Santa Anita.
Unique Bella has started once at this meeting, winning the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at seven furlongs for 3-year-old fillies on the Dec. 26 opening-day program.
In the $200,000 Santa Maria, Unique Bella is expected to face Gratzie, Majestic Heat, Mopotism, and Shenandoah Queen.
The Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs Saturday will be the stakes debut for the recent maiden-race winners Ax Man and Kanthaka. Ax Man won his debut in a six-furlong maiden race by 9 1/2 lengths on Jan. 6 and will be favored in the $200,000 San Vicente against probable runners Kris’ Rocket Kat, Mr. Jagermeister and Nero and possibly All Out Blitz.
Blackjackcat, third in the Breeder’s Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 4, will be favored in the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at a mile on turf.
Three-day suspension for Roman
Leading jockey Evin Roman will serve a three-day suspension from Thursday through Saturday for causing interference in the fourth race at Santa Anita on Jan. 28.
Roman, 19, was cited for his ride on Fly to Mars, who finished second in the Clocker’s Corner Stakes on the hillside turf course. Roman was judged to have altered course without sufficient clearance.
Last month, Roman won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding apprentice jockey of 2017. Through Sunday, Roman led all riders at Santa Anita with 24 wins, five more than Flavien Prat.
Roman won four riding titles in Southern California last year – three at Los Alamitos and tied for first with Prat at the Santa Anita spring-summer meeting.
Even without Roman in the entries Thursday, there are five apprentice jockeys booked on Thursday’s eight-race program: Maria Falgione, who claims 10 pounds; Cesar Franco, Tom Lefranc, and Edgar Payeras, who claim seven pounds; and Franklin Ceballos, who claims five pounds.
Ceballos’s apprentice claim was reduced from seven pounds to five pounds when he won the 40th race of his career Sunday. He recently relocated from Maryland and has won two races from seven mounts in Southern California this winter.
