Yahilwa rested and ready for La Canada

ARCADIA, Calif. – The 2015 season caught up with Yahilwa in the stretch of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland last October.

Less than four weeks after a hard-fought third-place finish in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, Yahilwa faded to finish sixth of 14 in the BC Distaff. The season was over.

When Yahilwa returns to racing in Saturday’s $200,000 La Canada Stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita, trainer Jim Cassidy expects a brighter performance.

“She puts so much effort in her races,” Cassidy said. “She needs a little more time between races.”

The Grade 2 La Canada Stakes will be the 16th stakes appearance for the 6-year-old Yahilwa in her 32nd start. It would be her most prestigious win. Yahilwa won the Grade 3 Sixty Sails Handicap at Hawthorne last April and the Treasure Chest Stakes at Delta Downs in 2014.

Yahilwa, owned by Deron Pearson, was second by seven lengths to Beholder in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar last August. In the Spinster, she was beaten a neck by the late-rallying Got Lucky and a head by Untapable.

“It was a bummer,” Cassidy said of the loss. “I don’t think anyone saw that horse coming.”

The La Canada Stakes is run at 1 1/16 miles and is open to females ages 4 and up for the first time this year. The race was previously run for 4-year-old fillies.

The leading contenders include Birdatthewire, who won the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs here Dec. 26, and Taris, who won the Grade 3 Go for Wand Handicap at Aqueduct on Nov. 27. Taris was third after a troubled trip in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland on Oct. 31.

The four-time stakes winner Warren’s Veneda will miss the race. Trainer Craig Lewis said on Wednesday that Warren’s Veneda emerged from a workout last weekend with inflammation in a leg. Warren’s Veneda, 6, might remain in training or be retired and bred, he said.

Owned by breeder Ben Warren, Warren’s Veneda has won 8 of 29 starts and earned $932,112. She won the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational last March and was seventh in the BC Distaff at Keeneland in October.