Tenma bounces back to give Baffert an eighth straight Starlet

Seven juvenile fillies broke from the gate in the $201,000 Starlet (G2) at Los Alamitos on Saturday, but from start to finish it was basically a two-filly race.

Unsurprisingly, it was a Bob Baffert trainee who came out on top. Bouncing back from a dull showing in her previous start, Tenma defeated second-time starter Look Forward to give Baffert his eighth consecutive victory in the 1 1/16-mile event.

Tenma had won her first two starts in photo finishes at Del Mar over the summer, including the Del Mar Debutante (G1) by a nose over Vodka With a Twist, who started as the 17-10 Starlet favorite following her recent second-place effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). However, Tenma entered Saturday’s race off a third in the Oct. 5 Oak Leaf (G2), where she was beaten more 10 lengths while sporting blinkers for the first time.

The blinkers came off Tenma for the Starlet, and despite showing strong early foot, pleased jockey Juan Hernandez with the way she was traveling while swapping leads throughout with Look Forward.

“With the blinkers off, she relaxed really well,” Hernandez said.

Leading narrowly through a quarter in :23.41 and a half in :48.25, Tenma relinquished a small lead to Look Forward for the next 3 1/2 furlongs or so, but reasserted her superiority down the long homestretch and won going away by 1 3/4 lengths.

TENMA 🇺🇲 hija de NYQUIST, supera a LOOK FORWARD para ganar los 8½F del Starlet Stakes G2 en Los Alamitos.

Montó Juan Hernández para Bob Baffert.

Con este triunfo, los 3 dosañeros que hoy ganaron G2 con puntos al Derby y la Oaks, son todos nietos de TAPIT 🇺🇲
📽️ @TwinSpires pic.twitter.com/ZalvxwintW

— Luis E. Caraballo G. (@luis_ernestocg) December 8, 2024

Owned by Baoma Corporation, Tenma covered the course in 1:44.16 over a fast track and paid $7. Look Forward finished second, nine lengths clear of Vodka With a Twist. The order of finish was rounded out by Baffert’s two other entries, Mawu and Nooni, with Practical Dream and Aunt Mo finishing sixth and seventh.

Tenma earned 10 qualifying points toward the 2025 Kentucky Oaks (G1), increasing her total to 13. Look Forward earned five points, while Vodka With a Twist increased her total from 15 points to 18. Mawu secured two points, and Nooni bumped her total from five to six points.

Bred in Kentucky by Bobby Flay, Tenma most recently sold for $850,000 at OBS in April. She is by Nyquist and out of Amagansett, by Tapit. Also hailing from this female line is French and multiple Irish highweight Misty for Me, who produced multiple English champion U S Navy Flag and multiple Group 1 winner Roly Poly.