ARCADIA, Calif. – Given that favorites never win the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes, a low-odds filly named for the world’s fastest roller coaster could be up against it Sunday at Santa Anita.
But there is a problem for bettors fading program favorite Formula Rossa in the La Brea. Formula Rossa, who earned a field-high 98 Beyer Speed Figure two starts back, happens to be fastest in the field of 3-year-old fillies racing seven furlongs in race 8 on Sunday, which is opening day.
Formula Rossa is not as fast as the 149-mph Middle Eastern roller coaster she is named after, but she is fast. So are others in an evenly matched La Brea, which features nine locals and a pair of East Coast shippers in Grade 2-winning comebacker Five G and stakes winner Her Laugh.
Only one favorite has won the La Brea in the past 14 years. That was Unique Bella in 2017, and the median $2 win payoff in the period is $24. For horsemen with a filly in reasonable form, it’s a good spot to take a shot. Same goes for longshot bettors hunting for a price.
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In addition to Mark Glatt-trained Formula Rossa, the La Brea locals include three trained by Bob Baffert – high-figure allowance winner Usha, stakes winner Silent Law, and Brilliantly. Other La Brea entrants are route-to-sprint upset candidates Simply Joking and So There She Was, stakes-placed sprinter Artisma, and Magnificat. Schilflied is an allowance turf filly trying dirt.
Formula Rossa has started only three times, and she was brilliant in her first two races. Her runaway wins include an allowance romp in August at Del Mar, after which Glatt and owner Muir Hut Stables tested deeper waters. Formula Rossa faced division leader Sweet Azteca in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo in summer.
“It was a lot to ask of her in just her third start, but given the other options, it seemed like the right thing to do,” Glatt said.
Formula Rossa ran well, but Sweet Azteca defeated her by more than three lengths. The Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint was off the table for Formula Rossa.
“At that point, there wasn’t anywhere to get a race into her without traveling,” Glatt said. “She’s proven to run good with time between races, so [we decided to] just zero in on the La Brea.”
Mike Smith, who rode Formula Rossa first out, is back aboard. A front-runner listed at 3-1, Formula Rossa faces a challenging pace scenario in a race loaded with speed.
It’s been 10 years since a filly based outside of California has won the La Brea, a drought that would end with a win by Five G or Her Laugh. They shipped two weeks ago from Florida, and both fillies have worked over the Santa Anita track.
Five G, the 7-2 second choice in the La Brea, will make her first start since March. George Weaver trains Five G, who won the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks before she was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks when she went off her feed. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Five G, who is sired by Vekoma.
Her Laugh, co-fourth choice at 6-1, has a recency edge over shipping companion Five G. Transferred this summer to trainer Riley Mott, Her Laugh finished second in a relatively fast allowance race last month at Churchill Downs. It was her first start in more than seven months.
“She hasn’t missed a beat since arriving to us,” Mott said. “I thought she ran a respectable [race] in the allowance at Churchill. The number came back pretty good, so we’re hoping second off the layoff we can take a step forward.”
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Her Laugh’s rider is Jose Ortiz. The winner of the Untapable Stakes last winter at Fair Grounds, Her Laugh employs an off-the-pace sprint style that should play well in a field with a host of front-runners, including Formula Rosa, Magnificat, Silent Law, and Brilliantly.
Bob Baffert, a nine-time La Brea winner, entered three – Usha, Brilliantly, and Silent Law. Usha, listed at 9-2, looms the upset candidate. The Beyer Speed Figures she earned winning maiden and allowance races this summer at Del Mar, 95 and 92, rank among the highest in the La Brea field. Usha subsequently shipped to Keeneland for the Grade 2 Raven Run, where he finished seventh.
“She sort of lost it in the paddock. She just didn’t really run her race,” Baffert said, adding that Usha has trained well recently. “She’s slowly coming back to that [Del Mar] form. If she runs her race, she’ll be tough.”
Juan Hernandez rides Usha.
Baffert said Brilliantly “wants to go two turns.” The lightly raced filly will be rolling late under Flavien Prat, and the race could set up for her style.
A bomb listed at 20-1 is Simply Joking, shortening to a sprint in her third start back for trainer Michael McCarthy. She finished second last out in the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes, a route at Del Mar.
“Looking forward to seeing what she does on the cutback,” McCarthy said. “She’s got a touch of class about her.”
Kazushi Kimura rides Simply Joking, who is expected to rally from behind.
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