Los Al Futurity and Starlet Winners

Baffert Displays Mastery in Futurity

By: EverythingEQ Staff

Cheyenne Stables’ unbeaten juvenile Mastery showed that two-turns are no immediate obstacle on Saturday, Dec. 10. The colt won the $300,000 Gr. 1 Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity under steady handling by jockey Mike Smith with plenty of daylight between himself and the rest of the field.

Bobby Abu Dhabi sped to the lead early, taking the field through fractions of :23.37, :45.65, and 1:09.53, respectively, through the six furlongs. Mastery raced in second on the outside under Smith, pressing the other colt throughout and did not relent. Coming around the far turn, Bobby Abu Dhabi drifted slightly and caused Mastery to fan out, but that proved to be of no consequence; the latter took the lead in the upper stretch and despite seeming to lag briefly proved much the best from there as he easily held off any challenges, hitting the wire 7 ½ lengths ahead. The final time for the 1 1/16 mile test was 1:41.56.

The bay son of Candy Ride came into this race off a solid 1 ¼ length victory in the Nov. 19 Bob Hope Stakes, run at seven furlongs at Del Mar.

Mastery is out of the Old Trieste mare Steady Course. From 3 starts he has 3 wins and earnings of $271,200. His victory marked a record ninth win in the race for trainer Bob Baffert and is also the widest margin in the race’s history. The Los Alamitos Futurity was originally run at Hollywood Park as the Hollywood Futurity, but switched names when Hollywood Park went out of business.

Abel Tasman: Starlet on Display

By: EverythingEQ Staff

Abel Tasman, a homebred for Clearsky Stable, made her stakes debut a winning one on Saturday, Dec. 10 as she upset the field to win the $300,000 Gr. 1 Starlet Stakes.

From the gate, Tapped speedily worked her way between foes to obtain the lead and inched away from the others, taking them through fractions of :22.79, :46.78, and 1:10.81 for six furlongs. The winner, under jockey Joe Talamo, ran back in seventh early and then moved up on the inside entering the turn, gaining a better position, and hit the stretch in fifth position. American Gal, who was favored in the race, had obtained the lead mid-stretch, but could not ward off Abel Tasman on her outside. Abel Tasman then hit the wire one length ahead, clocking the 1 1/16 in 1:42.25.

A two year old filly by Quality Road, Abel Tasman is out of the Deputy Minister mare Vargas Girl. From four starts, she has 3 wins and earnings of $247,860.