Always a Princess rules La Canada

Always a Princess never gave an inch in the La Canada (Benoit Photos) Arnold Zetcher LLC’s homebred ALWAYS A PRINCESS (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]) wired Sunday’s $147,000 La Canada S. (G2) at Santa Anita Park in her second outing of the year. It was also her second triumph over champion Blind Luck (Pollard’s Vision), and the Bob Baffert filly put an exclamation point to her previous victory over that rival in the January 16 El Encino S. (G2). In that opener to her four-year-old campaign Always a Princess tracked in second for the first half-mile. She wasn’t to be outdone at any point in the La Canada, though, grabbing the lead from the start to post fractions of :24 3/5, :48 3/5, 1:12 2/5 and 1:36 1/5 while always in command. Jockey Martin Garcia shook the reins at the chestnut miss in the stretch, and Always a Princess began pulling away, eventually crossing under the wire 3 1/4 lengths in front of Blind Luck. The margin was nearly the same as the El Encino, but this time Blind Luck could not make up any ground on the winner, who stopped the clock in 1:48 1/5 for nine furlongs on the fast dirt.

“I just let her break by herself and tried to get along with her,” Garcia
said. “When I asked her, she really took off.”

Always a Princess was sent off the 6-5 second choice behind near even-money
favorite Blind Luck, and returned $4.40 and $2.40 after show wagering was
canceled. Blind Luck has yet to place off-the-board from her 17 career starts,
but hasn’t been able to find the winner’s circle in four races since taking last
August’s Alabama S. (G1). She had 3 1/2 lengths to spare on Harmonious
(Dynaformer) in the La Canada, who in turn was 4 1/4 lengths clear of Life Well
Lived (Tiznow) on the line. Fashion Trend (Petionville) was withdrawn.

“Martin did a good job,” Baffert said. “This filly is quicker than all these
horses, and if she gets the right pace, she’ll just keep going. I wasn’t sure
about (Always a Princess) getting the mile-and-an-eighth, and I thought the two
(Harmonious) might want to pressure her a little bit more, but (she) just sat
off of us, and Martin slowed them down.

“By slowing down, it takes a lot of those horses out of their game. We have a
nice horse, but we have a faster horse and she can sprint away from them. It
took Blind Luck completely out of her game.

“Now that Zenyatta’s gone, everybody can stay home.”

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. She
returned just 21 days later to earn her first win over the new surface in the El
Encino.

Always a Princess has now banked $516,048 in lifetime earnings and boasts a
career line that reads 9-5-1-1.

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). That makes Always a Princess 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).