Zero Tolerance holds off Tapwater in Las Cienegas
ARCADIA, Calif. - The finish was desperate, the result was a milestone.
Zero Tolerance ($6) held off a late run from 10-1 Tapwater to win Sunday’s Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes at Santa Anita, giving 55-year-old trainer Ruben Alvarado his first stakes win.
Alvarado took control of trainer Peter Miller’s high-profile stable in late November when Miller left training.
Zero Tolerance, ridden by Flavien Prat, was a somewhat fortunate winner of the $101,000 Las Cienegas for fillies and mares. Zero Tolerance took the lead in the stretch and was fully extended to win by a head over Tapwater, who lugged to the inside in the final sixteenth.
The second choice in a field of seven, Zero Tolerance ran about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course in 1:13.26 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 91.
The narrow margin surprised Prat.
“To be honest, I didn’t see her coming,” Prat said of Tapwater. “I figured someone could come from behind.”
Hear My Prayer, the 8-5 favorite, set a solid pace of 21.99 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.16 for a half-mile. Hear My Prayer was closely tracked by Zero Tolerance, who challenged the leader on the crossing from the hillside turf to the main turf course.
Hear My Prayer led by a half-length with a furlong remaining, but could not sustain the challenge. Tapwater, who trailed by 2 1/2 lengths in midstretch, closed with an impressive rally to threaten Zero Tolerance.
“She was laying in,” jockey Joe Bravo said of Tapwater. “She had a nice run at the end.”
Zero Tolerance earned $60,000 for the win, her biggest payday.
“She keeps improving,” Prat said.
Zero Tolerance was the third of four winners on the program for Prat, who leads the jockey standings.
Hear My Prayer held third, followed by Ginja, Quiet Secretary, Constantia and Gold for Kitten. Beautiful Gift was withdrawn earlier Sunday.
Zero Tolerance, a 4-year-old filly by Mizzen Mast, was Alvarado’s sixth runner in a stakes, all since the start of the current Santa Anita winter-spring meeting on Dec. 26. It did not take long after the race was finished for the congratulatory phone calls and texts to arrive.
“I’ve got about 20 calls,” Alvarado said as he left the winner’s circle.
“I expected she would run huge. She loves the six and a half on the hill.”
Owned by the partnership of Custom Truck Accessories, Jason Hall, Joe Kelly and Michael Riordan, Zero Tolerance has won 4 of 6 starts and has earned $215,000. The Las Cienegas was Zero Tolerance’s second win on the hillside turf course, preceded by the $82,000 Unzip Me Stakes for 3-year-old fillies in October.