Vasilika, Rymska square off in Gamely Stakes

It only took a few months for Vasilika to go from a claimer to the best female grass horse on the West Coast, a position she has maintained since last summer at Del Mar. She has won 11 times in her last 12 starts for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, with six of those wins coming in graded stakes.

No one based in Southern California can beat her. But her path to yet another major victory Monday in the Grade 1, $500,000 Gamely Stakes at Santa Anita is compromised by the presence of Rymska, who ships in from New York as trainer Chad Brown tries to keep his multitude of middle-distance turf females from tripping over one another.

It is Brown who engineered the only blemish in Vasilika’s win streak, when Uni beat Vasilika in the Grade 1 Matriarch last December at Del Mar. And it is Rymska who looms as the biggest challenger to Vasilika in the eight-horse Gamely, even though Vasilika finished in front of Rymska in the Matriarch.

Rymska could only manage to finish sixth in the Matriarch, one length behind Vasilika. But that race was at one mile, and the extra furlong of the 1 1/8-mile Gamely could be crucial.

“I think a mile and an eighth is her best distance,” Brown said by telephone from New York, adding that he thinks the one-mile Matriarch and 1 1/16-mile Jenny Wiley – in which Rymska finished second last month at Keeneland to stablemate Rushing Fall – are “too short.”

“She ran really well last time. It was a good race for her,” Brown said of the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley. He said the Gamely was enticing both because of the timing – six weeks after the Jenny Wiley – and the distance.

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The likelihood of firm ground also offers appeal.

“I would prefer her on firm ground,” Brown said. “She can hold her own with some give in the ground, but I would prefer it firm.”

Rymska can’t afford to make a mistake because Vasilika is a pro. She won eight straight prior to the Matriarch and has picked right up this year, with three straight graded stakes wins, all at Santa Anita. All three of her wins this year have been at one mile, but she won the Grade 2 John C. Mabee at 1 1/8 miles and the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at 1 1/4 miles last year.

“I think she can run any distance,” Hollendorfer said.

Six others are in the Gamely, including the former Brown trainee Elysea’s World – who is now with Richard Baltas – and the comebacking Ollie’s Candy. The Gamely goes as race 7 on the 10-race card.

KEY CONTENDERS

Rymska, by Le Havre
Last 3 Beyers: 97-97-89

◗ She has finished first or second in eight of her last nine starts. Irad Ortiz Jr. has ridden her in her last seven starts and will be at Santa Anita for the mount on Monday.

Vasilika, by Skipshot
Last 3 Beyers: 95-94-94

◗ She was claimed in February 2018 for $40,000 and has earned more than $900,000 since.

◗ Flavien Prat rides her for the 13th straight time. They are 11 for 12 together.

Elysea’s World, by Champs Elysees
Last 3 Beyers: 94-86-87

◗ A multiple graded stakes winner for Brown, she is 1 for 2 since her new owners purchased her for $500,000 last November at Keeneland and sent her west to Baltas.

◗ Drayden Van Dyke rode her to victory last time out in the Grade 3 Santa Ana at 1 1/4 miles and is back aboard.

Ollie’s Candy, by Candy Ride
Last 3 Beyers: 93-90-90

◗ She is making her first start since August and her first start for trainer John Sadler.

◗ She is winless in two prior turf races but ran well both times, finishing second in the Grade 2 San Clemente and Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks last summer.

◗ Joel Rosario, in for the day primarily to ride the Sadler-trained Gift Box in the Gold Cup, has the mount.

Ahimsa, by Animal Kingdom
Last 3 Beyers: 89-88-71

◗ This is by far the toughest test she’s had, but she could make the top in a race that doesn’t appear to have much pace.

◗ She returned from a layoff of nearly nine months to score a front-running victory last time out against allowance company under Brice Blanc, who is back aboard.