DEL MAR, Calif. – Splendora was spectacular on Saturday at Del Mar.
The 4-year-old filly crushed the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint by 4 3/4 lengths over Vahva. Even-money favorite Hope Road finished third.
Although the Filly and Mare Sprint lost some of its pizzazz due to morning scratches of early one-two favorites Sweet Azteca and Tamara, it is fair to wonder if either could have defeated Splendora.
Splendora ($7.80) saved ground early, angled outside into the lane and won clear in a fast final time for seven furlongs – 1:21.79. A 4-year-old by Audible, Splendora is owned by Michael Talla, trained by Bob Baffert, and was ridden by Flavien Prat.
“She loves this track, and she was working really well at Santa Anita,” Baffert said, adding that he debated entering her in the BC Distaff. “I knew that seven-eighths was going to be perfect for her.”
Splendora is now 4 for 4 over the Del Mar racetrack, where she won two allowance sprints and the restricted Tranquility Lake Stakes, a one-mile route last out. Before the Breeders’ Cup, she had not raced in two months, but her recent works were outstanding.
Kim Lloyd, racing manager for Michael Talla, said Baffert suggested one month ago that Splendora, sired by Audible, would fit in the Filly and Mare Sprint. It’s not like she was underqualified. She had three runner-up finishes in graded stakes under her belt.
“It was Baffert’s idea,” Lloyd said. “He said, 'Kim, she’s doing better than ever.' I said to Baffert, 'whatever you want to do.' ”
Good call. The win was Baffert’s 20th in a Breeders’ Cup race, tying him with the late D. Wayne Lukas for second on the all-time Breeders’ Cup win list. Aidan O’Brien has 21 Breeders’ Cup wins.
Prat said he had never been on Splendora until Saturday, but Baffert told him the filly was ready to roll. “He told me she was training great,” Prat said. “I thought I had a good draw, she was travelling well all the way around.”
The 4 3/4-length margin of victory was the largest since Baffert’s first Filly and Mare Sprint in 2020, when Gamine won by 6 1/4 lengths at Keeneland.
Now 5 for 10 lifetime, Splendora will enter 2026 as one of the top older females. Talla said after the race that “I think we’re going to run her next year” at age 5.
Not so for Vahva, who was making her swan song. The top-class mare rallied to finish second for trainer Cherie DeVaux, whose voice cracked after the race while talking about the 5-year-old mare.
“She’s really the first real dirt horse that has been marquee,” DeVaux aid. “There were tears [regarding her imminent departure].” Vahva, who won seven races and more than $2.2 million. She is scheduled to be sold Nov. 4 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
The disappointment in the race was Hope Road, who threw a hissy-fit while loading into the gate. “She always does that,” jockey Jose Ortiz said. He did not believe her attitude affected her performance.
“I felt I was travelling really good, we approached the three-sixteenths pole, and the winner came by me,” Ortiz said. Hope Road set the pace into the stretch and tired to third.
After the top three finishers, the order was Zeitlos, Richi, Haulin Ice, and Praying. The $1 exacta combining Splendora and Vahva paid $28.40
Saturday morning, the two program favorites were scratched by regulatory veterinarians –Sweet Azteca and Tamara., Fee Blanche, a longshot from Japan, scratched early in the week.
With only seven runners, the field was the second-smallest for the Filly and Mare Sprint. The race had five starters in 2021, won by Ce Ce.
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