NEWS
Crisp upsets Blind Luck in Santa Anita Oaks
Posted: Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:21 PM
CRISP
Benoit & Associates photo
To view the Santa Anita Oaks, click here.
by Myra Lewyn
A change in racing strategy kept Crisp close to the pace on Saturday in the $250,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G1), and she capitalized on slow fractions set by runner-up All Due Respect while upsetting one of the nation’s elite three-year-old fillies, Blind Luck.
Outfitted with blinkers for the first time, the El Corredor filly tracked from no more than a length back in second as All Due Respect laid down sluggish fractions of :24.83 for the opening quarter, :49.78 for the half, and 1:13.93 for six furlongs.
Crisp willingly engaged All Due Respect in the stretch on cue from jockey Joel Rosario, then briefly brushed with that opponent in deep stretch before prevailing by a neck. Blind Luck, the 1-to-2 favorite, rallied from last for third, another neck back.
“We were hoping to lay a little closer today because it looked like there was a lot of speed in here, so the tactics were drawn up and worked today for her,” trainer John Sadler said of Crisp.
“She was fourth, beaten [3¼ lengths by Blind Luck in the Las Virgenes Stakes (G1) on February 13 in her previous start]. There was no pace that day and she put in a good run and couldn’t get there, so we thought we would have her lay up closer today.”
Crisp, who along with Blind Luck is nominated to the Triple Crown races, will be aimed for the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on April 30.
“The blinkers made a big difference,” Rosario said of Crisp, a talented but somewhat erratic filly who has lugged out in some of her previous races. “She was more focused today and she was into the bridle. She finished great, but she tried to lay on the filly inside of her, but she always does that. She ran great.”
Blind Luck, the morning-line favorite among individual betting interests in this weekend’s Kentucky Oaks Future Wager, was aiming for her fourth Grade 1 win in the Santa Anita Oaks. She was angled to the outside for her stretch run before jockey Rafael Bejarano guided her back inside past midstretch as Crisp and All Due Respect battled on the front end, preventing a clear run.
“I was in a good position, but when we came into the stretch, those fillies in front of me tightened up and my hole closed,” Bejarano said. “We just ran out of time—she was really running.”
Owned by Los Angeles’ Michael Talla, Crisp capped last season with a maiden victory in her second start and began her three-year-old season with a one-length win in the Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) on January 10 at Santa Anita before the Las Virgenes.
Bred in Kentucky by James Jones and Randy Swanson, Crisp improved to three wins in five career starts and earnings of $252,120. She is the first starter for her dam, the unraced Sir Cat mare Cat’s Fair.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Myra Lewyn is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
