Always a Princess crowned in El Encino

There was no catching Always a Princess in the El Encino (Benoit Photos) Sunday’s $150,000 El Encino S. (G2) was supposed to be the coming-out party for presumptive Eclipse champion Blind Luck (Pollard’s Vision) in her four-year-old debut, but Arnold Zetcher LLC’s homebred ALWAYS A PRINCESS (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]) had other plans. Gunning to the front under Rafael Bejarano, the Bob Baffert trainee dueled throughout with Champagne d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) before putting that rival away and drawing off to score by 3 1/2 lengths. Sent off the near 4-1 third pick in the five-filly field, Always a Princess paid $9.80, $3.40 and $2.80 for finishing up 8 1/2 furlongs on the fast dirt in 1:41 2/5. Blind Luck assumed her normal spot in the back of the pack as Champagne d’Oro set swift splits of :22 1/5, :45 2/5 and 1:08 3/5. Always a Princess was keeping close track of that one just to the outside and made her move for the lead rounding the turn. As the pacesetter faded, Always a Princess kicked into another gear, but Blind Luck was also beginning her run. Flying down the lane, the blinkered miss seemed to trip herself up a couple of times while changing leads, but even a perfect trip wouldn’t have been enough to catch Always a Princess by the time the wire came.

“I tried to be on the lead. I sent my horse really hard in the
beginning,” Bejarano admitted. “When I saw the No. 1 (Joe Talamo on
Champagne d’Oro) rush his horse, I decided to put my horse right next to
him. I didn’t want to stay behind him, but next to him, because my horse
has a stronger kick.

“When I saw the No. 1 getting tired, I decided to give my horse a
little breather before coming to the stretch. After that, I just let her
run and she showed me a big kick. Last time (La Brea [G1]) I stayed too
far back with her. It was only seven furlongs, and I know this horse is
better with more distance.”

Blind Luck was the 3-5 heavy favorite and gave back $2.40 and $2.10 for her
game effort. “If she got beat it’s because of my training,” Jerry Hollendorfer
stated after the tough loss.

Fashion Trend (Petionville) also came with a rally to take third by a
half-length over Champagne d’Oro, returning $3.40 as the 26-1 longshot. The $1
exotics were worth $8.80 (exacta), $64.70 (trifecta) and $142.90 (6-2-4-1
superfecta). Malibu Pier (Malibu Moon) followed the top four under the wire,
while Our Georgia (Pulpit), Life Well Lived (Tiznow) and It Tiz (Tiznow) were
all scratched.

Always a Princess made her first four starts on the synthetic tracks in
California, taking her maiden debut before posting second- and fifth-place runs
in the Oak Leaf S. (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), respectively,
in 2009. She returned to the winner’s circle in her three-year-old opener,
adding that allowance/optional claimer to her resume, then found herself being
shipped east to contest graded events in the Midwest.

Following a 3 1/4-length romp in Hoosier Park’s Indiana Oaks (G2), Always a
Princess took on older rivals for the first time when trying the Chilukki S.
(G2) at Churchill Downs. A stumbling start and five-wide run compromised her
chances, but the chestnut filly still managed to get up for third on that day.
She closed out her sophomore campaign back in the Golden State, finishing fourth
in the seven-furlong La Brea on Santa Anita’s newly installed dirt course.
Always a Princess quickly returned to earn her first win over the new surface in
this one, which improved her record to 8-4-1-1, $426,048.

The Kentucky-bred lass is out of Gabriellina Giof (GB) (Ashkalani), who
captured the 2001 Manhattan Beach S. and finished second in that same year’s San
Clemente H. (G2). Thus, Always a Princess is a half-sister to dual Grade 1
heroine Gabby’s Golden Gal (Medaglia d’Oro), who returned off a nine-month break
to run 10th in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) last out.

Gabriellina Giof has also produced an unnamed juvenile filly by Johannesburg,
and this is the same family as Italian Group 3 winner Retrousse (Naskra).