ARCADIA, Calif. – Usha freaked in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old sprint fillies Sunday at Santa Anita. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Juan Hernandez, Usha ($13.40) crushed the La Brea by 5 1/4 lengths. The performance was a bounce-back effort by Usha, who finished seventh in her most recent start at Keeneland after a meltdown in the paddock. Sunday at Santa Anita, Usha maintained composure and drilled the field in 1:21.68, which translated to a solid 99 Beyer Speed Figure. The favorite Formula Rossa finished second; Simply Joking finished a neck back in third. No one was beating Usha in the La Brea. “She’s a little nervous, but today she was really calm,” Hernandez said. She needed to be, because early traffic in the La Brea could have provided an alibi. Usha did not need an excuse. After checking on the backstretch, Usha settled in sixth or seventh position. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Racing into the turn, she was running easily behind traffic while waiting for a seam. Usha and Hernandez found it nearing the quarter pole, where Usha split rivals and ran away. The win was Baffert’s record-extending 10th in the La Brea; the winning margin was the largest since Baffert-trained Pussycat Doll won the 2005 La Brea by 5 3/4 lengths. Usha is owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. Sired by Tiz the Law, the win stamps 3 for 8 Usha as a key player for Baffert in the 2026 filly-mare sprint division. “Usha showed up today,” Baffert said. “I shipped her to Kentucky for her last race (Grade 2 Raven Run) and she lost it in the paddock. She came back here and that worked well. Juan knows her really well I didn't have to say anything to him. We expected this when I shipped her to Kentucky, and didn't win a race, but today she showed up.” The longshot history of the La Brea continues. Formula Rossa became the 14th favorite to lose the La Brea in the past 15 years. But take nothing away from runner-up Formula Rossa; the Mark Glatt-trained 2-1 favorite was making only her fourth start, and should make noise next year in the older filly-mare division. Her jockey believes the high-strung filly could be even better running long. “Been working on teaching her to relax,” Mike Smith said afterward. “She might have relaxed a little too much leaving there, but I think she’s going to be a better mare because of it. And I honestly think she wants to go around two turns.” Formula Rossa settled in eighth place, rallied wide, and finished a neck in front of Simply Joking. After the top three, the order of finish was Brilliantly, Her Laugh, So There She Was, Silent Law, Artisma, Five G (2.70-1 second choice), and Schilflied. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.