NEWS
Pretty Unusual bests Stardom Bound in El Encino
Posted: Sunday, January 17, 2010 8:30 PM
PRETTY UNUSUAL
Benoit & Associates photo
To view a video replay of the El Encino Stakes, click here.
by Mike Curry
Pretty Unusual rolled past multiple Grade 2 winner Justwhistledixie and pacesetter Freedom Star inside the eighth pole and held off a belated bid from champion Stardom Bound to win the $150,000 El Encino Stakes (G2) by 1 1/4 lengths on Sunday a Santa Anita Park.
Jockey Chantal Sutherland guided the four-year-old Unusual Heat filly through an opening in early stretch and she accelerated willingly. Pretty Unusual spurted past Freedom Star to seize command and had plenty of stamina in reserve to remain clear of 2008 champion two-year-old filly Stardom Bound.
“When we turned for home, all of a sudden the traffic spread and we were able to get through,” Sutherland said. “I could see Martin [Garcia aboard Freedom Star] on the lead and I said, 'Oh my God, I'm gonna catch him.' I could hear Mike [Smith aboard Stardom Bound] coming, but I had a lot left.”
Pretty Unusual completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.72 on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface. Stardom Bound rallied from last in the ten-horse field to finish second, a head in front of Freedom Star. Justwhistledixie was another three lengths back in fourth in her first start on a synthetic surface.
Pretty Unusual won the Melair Stakes in April for trainer Barry Abrams but was unplaced in her final three starts of 2009. She returned from a five-month break with a runner-up finish in an allowance race on January 2 at Santa Anita, which set her up perfectly for the El Encino.
“She wasn't ready to run last time; she just got beat going a mile and a sixteenth,” said Abrams, who trains Pretty Unusual for Madeline Auerbach, Marie Goda, and Jack Klugman. “She’s a good horse. … I wasn't surprised. Everything is working."
The victory capped a productive weekend for Sutherland, who also won the Santa Ynez Stakes (G2) with Amen Hallelujah on Saturday.
“Let the good times roll,” Sutherland said. “That was amazing.”
Pretty Unusual improved to three wins and two seconds in ten starts and boosted her earnings to $249,632. She is out of the winning Siphon (Brz) mare Sci Fi Kin.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
