by Mike Curry

Costume (GB) dug in gamely in the closing strides to win the $150,000 Santa Ana Handicap (G2) on Sunday at Santa Anita Park as less than a half-length separated the first four finishers.

The four-year-old Danehill filly recorded her second consecutive graded stakes victory and gave trainer Bobby Frankel his eighth win in the Santa Ana Handicap.

“She’s a game filly,” Frankel said. “I think when they got to her, she started to stick her head out.”

Juddmonte Farms’ homebred Costume entered off a win in the Buena Vista Handicap (G2) on February 18 at Santa Anita. She surged right to the lead under jockey Garrett Gomez as the 2.30-to-1 second choice in the 1 1/8-mile Santa Ana Handicap, which was reduced to eight starters after morning-line favorite Black Mamba (NZ) was scratched.

Costume dictated the pace through an opening quarter in :23.98 and a half-mile in :48.30 while pressed by Kris’ Sis. Costume edged away from that foe approaching the final turn and spurted clear when roused by Gomez entering the stretch.

Costume opened a clear advantage in early stretch but had to dig in gamely in the final sixteenth to hold off runner-up Immortelle (Brz), third-place finisher and 2.10-to-1 favorite Lavender Sky, and fourth-place finisher Foxysox (GB).

“I really didn’t want to sprint for home, because she doesn’t have that much of a turn of foot,” Gomez said. “Going to the far turn, she was kind of looking down at the inside rail and I decided to go ahead and inch away from them at the three-eighths pole and shake loose a bit.”

Immortelle nipped Lavender Sky by a head with Foxysox another head back in fourth. Immortelle’s jockey, David Flores, lodged a claim of foul against Costume for interference in the stretch, but the stewards ruled the incident occurred too late to alter the order of finish.

Costume completed the distance on firm turf in 1:48.08 to improve to three wins in 12 career starts. She boosted her earnings to $309,187.

Costume is out of French Group 3 winner Dance Dress, by Nureyev.

For an Equibase chart, click here.

Mike Curry is Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor