Matias Cavalieri traveled to see his Argentinean Group 1 heroine Miss
Serendipity contest Monday’s $301,000
Gamely
Stakes at Santa Anita, and his homebred made the trip worthwhile by adding a
U.S. Grade 1 laurel to her resume. It took a fittingly game effort on her part
to collar Emollient, who herded her while drifting noticeably across the course,
but Miss Serendipity refused to be denied and thrust her nose in front in time.
On the upswing all season for Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally, the
six-year-old mare had nearly prevailed in the April 13 Santa Barbara Handicap,
but had the victory snatched from her grasp by Stormy Lucy. Despite the narrow
loss in her latest venture, Miss Serendipity was allowed to go off at 13-1 in
the Memorial Day feature.
Jockey Brice Blanc had Miss Serendipity well placed in fourth early, in the
clear and within easy striking distance of the front-running Rhagori. Emollient,
the 3-1 second choice, prompted through fractions of :23 4/5, :47 1/5 and 1:10
3/5. When Emollient ratcheted up the pressure on the far turn, Miss Serendipity
moved at the same time to keep her firmly in sight.
Emollient wrested control turning into the stretch and tried to get away, but
Miss Serendipity was in hot pursuit. In midstretch, Emollient continued to hold
sway, and threatened to keep going through a mile in 1:34 1/5.
But Miss Serendipity was relentless, and Emollient didn’t appear entirely
straightforward as she commenced a rightward drift under pressure. Miss
Serendipity, however, remained resolute and earned the verdict. The daughter of
Not for Sale finished 1 1/8 firm-turf miles in 1:46 1/5 and sparked a healthy
win mutuel of $29.80.
“My mare has been improving with each race,” Blanc said. “She just needed to
get acclimated. She was aggressive her first few races and they wanted to try
and change that style. It took us a little while to work on her but now she’s
acclimating. I watched her replays before I ever rode her and she’s always
impressed me.”
“I wasn’t sure whether she got beat or not,” McAnally said of the thrilling
finish.
Emollient’s rider, Rosie Napravnik, described what happened down the lane.
“She felt great,” Napravnik said. “I was full of horse the whole way but she
really hangs when she gets out front. She ducked when I got her with the stick
and she was a little bit all over the place in the stretch. She’s
super-talented. I just think it’s more of having to trick her into doing the
right thing.”
The top two were 2 1/4 lengths clear of 2-1 favorite Parranda, who rallied
belatedly for third, and Stormy Lucy closed for fourth. Next came Premier Steps,
Customer Base, Rhagori, Emotional Kitten and Changethechannel.
Miss Serendipity nearly doubled her career bankroll to $373,358 from a
scorecard of 24-6-6-3, 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, she routed the June 29 Gran Premio
Estrellas Distaff by four lengths, speeding about 1 1/4 miles on turf 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, Miss Serendipity switched to turf with steadily improving results.
She 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 Santa
Barbara, but took another step forward here.
“They keep improving, the South Americans,” McAnally said. “Sometimes they
get on it right away, but even Bayakoa, her first race or two, she got beat,
then she won a little stake at Del Mar by 10 lengths. Other ones, they come
around right away. This mare took a little while, but she finally came around.
“She’s run on anything, dirt, grass, soft and firm. I’ve liked her since we
got her last summer at Del Mar. She’s got a good disposition and everything
about her was good and she finally put it all together. She wasn’t really doing
well the first few races. She had long hair. We did clip her; the only horse we
clipped this year and when we did, she had little bumps all over her, and they
all went away. She looks great right now.”
Bred by Anselmo Emilio Cavalieri, 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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