Miss Serendipity finishes best to grasp Yellow Ribbon

Miss Serendipity was delighted that jockey Brice Blanc returned from a shoulder injury to guide her in the Yellow Ribbon (Benoit Photos) Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally hoped that a reunion with jockey Brice Blanc would help Miss Serendipity bounce back in Monday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap at Del Mar, and once again they proved a winning team. Victorious with Blanc aboard in the Gamely on Memorial Day at Santa Anita, she missed her favorite rider when a troubled last of six in the August 10 John C. Mabee. Blanc had in the meantime been sidelined by a shoulder injury suffered in a July 25 spill. Although the Yellow Ribbon was his very first race back, he gave Miss Serendipity another well-judged ride, and the Argentinean mare responded to record a 1 1/4-length score. In the early stages, Need You Now went forward to establish splits of :23 2/5 and :47 2/5 on the firm turf, with Cozze Up Lady and Wishing Gate taking up close stalking spots. Parranda, the 9-5 favorite, was reserved a little farther back. Miss Serendipity in turn tracked her with a watchful eye in seventh, trailed only by the unhurried Stormy Lucy. Rounding the far turn through six furlongs in 1:11, Cozze Up Lady and Wishing Gate turned up the pressure on the leader. Cozze Up Lady fared best in their three-way tussle and wrested control entering the stretch.

But Parranda was also on the march, and Miss Serendipity, who briefly had to
steady off heels at one point, now had clear sailing. Unwinding widest of all,
Miss Serendipity outkicked Parranda to finish 1 1/16 miles in 1:40 4/5. The 9-2
second choice furnished her loyalists with an $11.20 win mutuel.

Parranda wore down Cozze Up Lady by a neck for second. Stormy Lucy had
difficulty finding a path among rivals down the stretch and checked in an
unlucky fourth, just missing third by a nose. Ironically, Stormy Lucy was ridden
by Rafael Bejarano, who also had no luck with Miss Serendipity in the Mabee, yet
has otherwise been on an absolute tear of late. Fifth-placer Heat Du Jour bested
a fading Wishing Gate and was followed by Need You Now and Bunairgead. Winning
Rhythm was withdrawn.

An Anselmo Emilio Cavalieri homebred, Miss Serendipity has compiled a resume
of 26-7-6-3, $493,608, reflecting proficiency on turf and dirt. Runner-up in the
2011 Premio Francisco J. Beazley to her maternal relative Malibu Queen, she
captured the Premio Japan Racing Association and missed by a head in the Premio
Republica Oriental del Uruguay in 2012, all on dirt. Miss Serendipity placed in
three more stakes in 2013 — the Miguel Angel y Tomas Juarez Celman and the
Ricardo, Ezequiel y Miguel Fernandez Guerrico on turf and the Circulo de
Propietarios de Caballerizas on dirt — before concluding her Argentinean career
with an exclamation point.

Saving her best in her homeland for last, the dark bay routed last year’s
Gran Premio Estrellas Distaff by four lengths, speeding about 1 1/4 miles in the
Group 1 turf event in 1:57 4/5. Miss Serendipity was then sent stateside, and
made her debut for McAnally in the January 12 Paseana at Santa Anita — named
for the Hall of Fame racemare from Argentina who was also trained by McAnally. A
solid fourth in that return on the dirt, she switched to turf with steadily
improving results.

Miss Serendipity was a tiring fourth after setting the pace in the February
17 Buena Vista, a closing third in the March 16 Santa Ana and an agonizing
second in the April 13 Santa Barbara, where she was caught by Stormy Lucy late.
Miss Serendipity gained revenge in the Gamely, and in the process, the
six-year-old mare earned a U.S. Grade 1 to go along with her Argentinean Group 1
laurel.

Sired by Not for Sale, Miss Serendipity is out of the Candy Stripes mare
Marca Registrada. The dam is in turn a half-sister to Group 1 vixen Malinche,
who produced multiple Group 1 winner Malibu Queen. Miss Serendipity’s second
dam, Go for Win, is a full sister to Group 1 scorer Lady Ling. This is also the
family of Grade or Group 3 winners Saros Brig, He’s a Saros and Tropical Toss.

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