Fashion Plate struts her stuff in Las Virgenes

Fashion Plate wired the Las Virgenes in her stakes bow (Benoit Photos)

Arnold Zetcher LLC and Michael B. Tabor’s Fashion Plate handed even-money
favorite Streaming her first loss when holding that rival by a half-length to
wire Saturday’s Grade 1, $300,500
Las
Virgenes at Santa Anita. The Simon Callaghan trainee was making her stakes
bow in the one-mile contest off a 6 1/2-length maiden victory, and paid $11.40
for the win as the 9-2 third choice.

Jose Arias, who won the DRF/NTRA National Handicapping Championship
last weekend, presented the Las Virgenes trophy.

“It’s awesome to be out here,” he said. “It’s been a
great day and it’s an honor to present the trophy for such a historic race like
the Las Virgenes.”

Fashion Plate and Taste Like Candy both headed for the lead out of the gate,
with the former taking command on the backstretch through splits of :23, :46 1/5
and 1:10 4/5. Streaming was seeking to move her record to a perfect
three-for-three following victory in the Hollywood Starlet last out, and bided
her time in third before beginning her move entering the turn.

Taste Like Candy started to drop back rounding the turn but Fashion Plate and
Streaming were still going strong. Under encouragement from jockey Gary Stevens,
Fashion Plate managed to hold off her rival as Arethusa came flying to just miss
second on the wire.

Fashion Plate has really blossomed since transferring to dirt (Benoit Photos)

Streaming, Arethusa and Taste Like Candy all met up in the Starlet last out,
with the former posted a 1 1/2-length victory over Taste Like Candy while
Arethusa was back in fifth. On Saturday, Streaming filled the runner-up spot as
Arethusa finished 2 1/4 lengths in front of fourth-placer Taste Like Candy.
Artemis, Saintly Joan and Sushi Empire completed the order of finish following
the scratch of U.S. debuter Earthflight.

“Turning for home, I
thought we had it,” said Bob Baffert, who trains Streaming. “That’s why (Stevens
is) the best though, he’s tough. (Streaming) ran better when she was 10-1!”

Fashion Plate took three tries to break her maiden, finishing a well-beaten
seventh on the synthetic Polytrack at Del Mar before another far back third on
Hollywood Park’s all-weather Cushion Track. Making her dirt bow December 29 at
Santa Anita, the change in surface was obviously a welcome change as the Old
Fashioned filly wired that six-furlong contest by 6 1/2 lengths.

Saturday’s stakes debut triumph boosted Fashion Plate’s career earnings to
$219,250 and her line now stands at 4-2-0-1. She also earned 10 points on the
Road to the Kentucky Oaks series.

“We’ll look at the (Grade 1, $400,000) Santa Anita Oaks (on April 5) and if she
does well there, maybe we’ll take her to (Grade 1) Kentucky (Oaks on May 2),”
Callaghan declared.