Unzip Me holds sway in Monrovia

Unzip Me has won eight straight against females, and eight of her last 10 overall (Benoit Photo) Classy turf sprinter UNZIP ME (City Zip) has been unbeatable among fellow distaffers for the past year, and the speed merchant extended her dominance into 2011 with a wire-to-wire victory in Sunday’s $100,000 Monrovia S. (G3) at Santa Anita. The one rival who was expected to make a race of it, multiple Grade 1 winner Evening Jewel (Northern Afleet), failed to pick up with her usual gusto in her debut on the downhill course and wound up a non-threatening fifth. Unzip Me, coming off a third to top males in the November 6 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G2), was dispatched as the 3-5 favorite in her return to her own division, and her supporters hardly had an anxious moment. With Rafael Bejarano aboard, the California-bred strode to the lead, rattled off splits of :22 1/5 and :44 4/5 while chased by Reba Is Tops (He’s Tops), rebuffed her challenge, and remained in control down the stretch. Reba Is Tops valiantly continued her pursuit, and Broken Dreams (Broken Vow) made a late gain along the inside, but neither posed a serious danger to the 1 1/4-length winner.  Unzip Me stopped the teletimer in 1:12 3/5 for about 6 1/2 furlongs on the firm turf, paid $3.40, $2.40 and $2.20, and spearheaded the $1 exotics — $7 exacta, $23.10 trifecta and $79.50 superfecta (4-1-6-5).

“After I saw the other speed horse scratch in the post parade (Candace Gold
[Seeking the Gold]), I decided to be on the lead,” Bejarano said. “This is the
first time she has run after the Breeder’s Cup, so I just tried to get her to
relax and stay comfortable with my horse. In the beginning I wanted to get the
lead, but not let her go too fast. When I saw everybody getting close to me, I
was just waiting for the top of the stretch to close the door. As soon as I got
to the dirt, I let her go. She kept running and finished strong.”

“She ended up having a great trip,” winning trainer Marty Jones said. “She
got a nice, easy lead like she likes and did her thing. She’s a special horse.
She did break a little bit slow. She’s not real, real quick the first eighth of
a mile, but once she gets out of there and she gets going, she’s something
special. Hopefully, she’ll come out of the race good (when asked what might be
next). We’ll play it by ear.”

Broken Dreams subdued Reba Is Tops by a half-length for runner-up honors,
yielding $4.20 and $3.20 as the 5-1 third choice. Reba Is Tops gave back $4.40
at 10-1 for finishing 2 1/4 lengths clear of Lilly Fa Pootz (Gilded Time).
Evening Jewel and La Nez (Storm Creek) completed the order of finish, while
Candace Gold was a late scratch by the veterinarian, and Gilded Gem (Smarty
Jones) was withdrawn in favor of Friday’s Kalookan Queen H.

Besides improving her local mark to four-for-five, Unzip Me was notching her
sixth career stakes score, and racking up her eighth consecutive win in female
company. Her skein, which began with an entry-level allowance romp at Hollywood
Park in December 2009, includes the Sen. Ken Maddy H. (G3), Royal North S.
(Can-G3), Las Cienegas H. (G3), Irish O’Brien S. and Great Lady M. S. The
chestnut lost only twice last year, both times to males when third in the Robert
K. Kerlan Memorial H. and the aforementioned Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Her
overall record now stands at 17-10-2-3, $643,513.

Owned by her breeders Harris Farms and Donald Valpredo, in partnership with
Per Antonsen and trainer Jones, Unzip Me is out of the winning Arazi mare Escape
with Me, whose latest foals are an unraced sophomore filly named Clean Break
(Swiss Yodeler) and a yearling colt by Aragorn (Ire). Unzip Me’s second dam is
the brilliant, 11-time stakes heroine Soviet Problem (Moscow Ballet), the
conqueror of males in the Laurel Dash (G3) and a near-miss second in the 1994
Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).