The $80,000 claim of Amber Cascade at Churchill Downs in May has already proven to be a shrewd move by Flying P Stable and trainer Mike Maker.
The purchase may lead to a start in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1, pending Saturday’s Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita.
The winner of the $200,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes, for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on turf, receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Filly and Mare Turf.
Maker, based in Kentucky, said the free berth and the timing of the Rodeo Drive in relation to the Breeders’ Cup are the main reasons Amber Cascade was sent to California instead of running in the Grade 3 Dowager Stakes, a $350,000 race at 1 1/2 miles on turf for fillies and mares at Keeneland on Oct. 19.
“We could stay home and run for more money,” he said.
The Rodeo Drive drew a field of eight. Amber Cascade has yet to win a stakes, and will race against five fillies and mares who have done so – Alpha Bella, Hang the Moon, Mission of Joy, Starry Heavens, and Watchtower.
Amber Cascade, who has earned $136,938 since the claim, is one of three shippers in the field along with Speed Shopper, who was fourth in an allowance race at Saratoga in August in her last start for trainer William Walden, and Long Ago, who was third in the Anchorage Stakes at Churchill Downs in June for trainer William Morey.
Amber Cascade and Long Ago were second and sixth in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 30 in their most recent starts. Amber Cascade was beaten 2 1/4 lengths by Bellezza, a leading domestic contender for the BC Filly and Mare Turf, after racing in traffic in the opening furlong.
“A horse kind of came over on her and she had to alter course,” Maker said.
In her first start for Maker, Amber Cascade finished in a dead-heat for second in the $250,000 Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Mile Stakes at Ellis Park on Aug. 3 after racing in traffic on the turn.
“Both races we’ve had her in, she was unlucky to lose,” Maker said.
Amber Cascade typically races from off the pace, and is likely to follow Alpha Bella and Long Ago in the Rodeo Drive.
Alpha Bella led throughout the $102,000 CTT-TOC Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf for fillies and mares at Del Mar on Aug. 15, winning by 2 3/4 lengths over Starry Heavens. The win ended a 10-race losing streak for Alpha Bella since the Grade 3 La Prevoyante Stakes at 1 1/2 miles at Gulfstream Park in January 2024, when she was trained by Todd Pletcher.
Alpha Bella has been with John Sadler since the summer of 2024. The recent losing streak included losses in tough races on dirt won by Breeders’ Cup-bound fillies and mares trained by Bob Baffert.
“We sometimes caught a fast pace or a couple of Baffert fillies,” Sadler said.
Sadler insisted that Alpha Bella is at her best when allowed to lead.
“She’ll be forwardly placed,” he said. “That’s her style.”
Hang the Moon won the 2024 Rodeo Drive at 9-1, and was later last of 12 in the 2024 BC Filly and Mare Turf, the start of an ongoing four-race losing streak. Hang the Moon was fifth in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar on Sept. 6 and would produce another surprise with a win on Saturday.
Hang the Moon is trained by Phil D’Amato, who also starts Mission of Joy and Starry Heavens. Mission of Joy was third in the Mabee Stakes, closing from seventh of nine in the last half-mile. Starry Heavens, a minor stakes winner in France in 2023, was second in the CTT-TOC Stakes.
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