Siena Farm LLC‘s homebred
Angela Renee saved ground on the backstretch of Saturday’s Grade 1, $301,750
Chandelier at Santa
Anita Park, angled out rounding the turn under jockey Rafael Bejarano and
held off the determined late run from 2-1 favorite Conquest Eclipse to score a 1
1/2-length victory.
Sunday Sonnet and Angela Renee were quickest from the gate, but were quickly
swamped by Manahatta heading into the first turn. That one went wide, allowing
Sunday Sonnet to reclaim the lead and set fractions of :23, :46 4/5 and 1:12.
Bejarano settled Angela Renee into a stalking spot just behind the top two,
who were joined by Morning Coffee on the backstretch run. Manahatta and Morning
Coffee faded entering the final turn, but Conquest Eclipse was coming fast on
the outside. Angela Renee quickly moved off the rail to join the favorite
outside of Sunday Sonnet and was going best of all in the lane to finish 1 1/16
miles on the fast dirt in 1:43 2/5.
“I knew Conquest Eclipse was going to be tough to beat and I knew that Sunday
Sonnet was going to be the speed. I got us right into the race and when I saw
Sunday Sonnet go to the lead, I just tried to stay right behind. They showed us
the trip. When we got to the stretch I made sure we were clear and I knew
Conquest Eclipse was coming so we got the jump on her and we won,” Bejarano
explained.
“I would love to be on her in the Breeders’ Cup. I knew she didn’t give me
everything today and I’m pretty sure she was saving it for next time.”
The Todd Pletcher-trained juvenile miss paid $7.20 for her first stakes win
after being sent off the 5-2 second choice. She also earned an automatic berth
into the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile Fillies via the “Win & You’re In” Challenge series.
Conquest Eclipse proved best-of-the-rest in second while Danette filled out
the top three another 3 1/2 lengths back.
“This is her first time going two turns, so she ran really good,” jockey
Corey Nakatani praised his mount, Conquest Eclipse. “She broke hard and she kind
of slipped away from there. We tracked the winner pretty good, and she got the
right trip. She’s definitely a special filly and I love the way she’s moving
forward.”
“She learned a lot today. She had nowhere to go there for a while and it’s a
learning experience,” noted the favorite’s trainer, Mark Casse. “This sets her
up well for the (Breeders’ Cup) Juvenile Fillies.”
“I can’t wait to ride her in the Breeders’ Cup,” Kent Desormeaux said of
Danette, who entered the Chandelier still looking for a first career victory. “A
maiden third in a Grade I? If it wouldn’t be for my brother, I don’t know what
I’d think of it, but I’m very proud of his effort as much as hers.”
“It was an excellent effort for a maiden, don’t you think?” Keith Desormeaux
agreed. “She made up ground, then sort of leveled off the last eighth, so we
might want to put some reins on our ambitions.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to talk about it,” he added about entering the
filly in the Breeders’ Cup. “It would be an ambitious undertaking for a maiden
to run in the Breeders’ Cup. We might take a more plausible road. But we’re
definitely going to put it in the realm of conversation. We’ll have fun with
it.”
Majestic Presence followed in fourth
and completing the order of finish were Sunday Sonnet, Sharla Rae, Lutine Belle,
Manahatta, Morning Coffee, Dad’s Princess, Maybellene and Cruisingtheharbor.
The Chandelier was Angela Renee’s her first start outside of New York, where
the Bernardini broke her maiden at first asking on June 27 at
Belmont Park. She
followed up with a nice second in the Adirondack at
Saratoga, and stayed
at the Spa to be third after a bumpy start in the Spinaway. With this first
stakes score, the Kentucky-bred bay more than doubled her career earnings to
$300,000 and shows a 4-2-1-1 career line.
Angela Renee is out of the stakes-winning Deputy Minister mare Pilfer and
counts as a full brother multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire To Honor and
Serve, who just completed his second season at stud. Pilfer is herself a
half-sister to Grade 2 scorer India and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Sing
Softly, both Hennessy mares.
Angela Renee’s second dam, Grade 2-placed stakes vixen Misty Hour, counts as
a half-sibling the grandam of Canadian champion Rahy’s Attorney, and her fourth
dam is Grade 3 victress Java Moon. This black-type rich female family also
includes top sire Dynaformer; champions Ryafan and Sunshine Forever; and
multiple Grade 1 winner and dual classic-placed Brian’s Time, just to name a
few.
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