CYPRESS, Calif. - Consequent is the latest name on a remarkable list of nine consecutive wins in the Grade 2 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos by the powerful stable of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Consequent remained unbeaten after two starts with a one-length victory in Saturday’s $200,000 Starlet Stakes at 1 1/16 miles, closing from third in a field of five under jockey Kazushi Kimura.
In his career, Baffert has won the Starlet 12 times, including three runnings at Hollywood Park before that track closed in 2013. The Starlet was moved to Los Alamitos in 2014.
What could separate Consequent from Baffert’s other recent winners in the race is if she can accomplish a top-level win as a 3-year-old or older filly.
Of Baffert’s preceding Starlet winners at Los Alamitos, none won a Grade 1 as a 3-year-old or older filly. The Starlet itself was a Grade 1 through 2022 and has been a Grade 2 for the last three runnings.
Dream Tree, winner of the 2017 Starlet, won two Grade 2 stakes at Santa Anita and Saratoga in 2018, while Chasing Yesterday, the 2018 Starlet winner, won one more stakes in the 2019 Sunland Park Oaks in New Mexico.
Bast had one more start after winning the 2019 Starlet, a victory in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at seven furlongs at Santa Anita four weeks later. Varda, winner of the 2020 Starlet, did not have a 3-year-old season in 2021, and was third in three consecutive graded stakes in 2022, the final races of her career.
More recently, Eda won three consecutive stakes in 2022 and 2023 after winning the 2021 Starlet. She ended her career with a seventh-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita in 2023.
In the past few years, the Starlet has been a proving race for the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks the following April. Faiza, Nothing Like You and Tenma won the Starlet from 2022 to 2024, and all won the Santa Anita Oaks, their most prestigious wins as 3-year-olds.
Tenma was fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs last May and third in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar last August. Tenma was listed as sold for $3.2 million to the Japanese owner and breeder Katsumi Yoshida at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale last month, the fifth most expensive hip of the auction.
Consequent has more to prove in other ways, too.
Consequent won her debut in a maiden race at a mile at Del Mar on Nov. 14, closing from sixth in a field of nine while showing inexperience. She took the lead in the final sixteenth, and appeared to lose concentration before winning by a half-length.
In the Starlet, Consequent was more focused. She closed steadily in the final furlong to reach the front well before the finish. Considering Consequent has had only two starts, there is ample room for improvement.
“That looked pretty good,” Mike Marlow, Baffert’s assistant, said in the winner’s circle. “She needed all that stretch for sure.
“She’s still pretty green. She was tough to saddle, but she’s going to figure it out. She’s going to be good and it looks like more distance will be even better for her.”
Consequent, owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 67, the lowest of Baffert’s nine Starlet winners at Los Alamitos. The others have earned figures ranging from 68 for Varda to 89 for Bast.
Consequent paid $7.60 as the second choice. The Baffert-trained Nimah, the eye-catching winner of a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 23, was the 2-5 favorite. She was part of a duel for the lead with Cashed before fading to finish third.
“She might have needed the race since it was her first time going long,” Marlow said. “She was in a good position, but just got a little tired.’’
It was not clear on Sunday when or where Consequent could start in early 2026. At Santa Anita in coming months, there are three open stakes for 3-year-old fillies leading to the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 4 – the $100,000 Santa Ynez Stakes at seven furlongs on Jan. 3, the Grade 3 Las Virgenes Stakes at a mile on Feb. 1, and the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 1.
One of those races could draw Cashed, who finished second in her graded stakes debut in the Starlet. Cashed was second in the $177,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Oct. 31 in her fifth start and first appearance in a stakes.
“She ran lights-out,” trainer Doug O’Neill said on Sunday.
After dueling with Nimah, Cashed led in the stretch.
“She pulled away from her as if she had won the race,” O’Neill said. “The eventual winner came out of nowhere to win.”
O’Neill said he would confer with owners Paul and Zillah Reddam before forming a race plan for Cashed.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “The future is bright for her.”
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