The Diana (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
SAR- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile and One Eighth on the Turf
July 16, 2022

One of the greats of the game made their way to the Grade 1 Diana hoping to win the race for the second straight year. That amazing mare is none other than La Terrifiant, who wins for the 18th time and has now made over $7,200.000 in her career. Simply amazing! She is actually the third horse to win the race in back to back years, but the way she is going, I would not rule her out becoming the first three time winner. That’s not the only impressive accomplishment to come out of the race as her trainer, Smokey Stover, wins the race for the fourth straight year! First it was with Na Pali, then Holualoa and then La Terrifiant. Mario Gutierrez was along for the ride, and wins for the first time Congratulations to them! The time of the victory was 1:45.78, which is near the median of such times in the race’s history. Let’s take a look at it!

(½ Mile- :46.90)- Heading down the frontstretch, the Mb Stables- trained Proud Eights battles it out with the eventual winner, Smokey Stover’s La Terrifiant for the early lead in the race. They are even as they reach the clubhouse turn, but eventually Proud Eights is going to win the battle for now. The lead is half a length around the turn, and this holds up into the early backstretch. La Terrifiant does not need to press the issue any more, and is content to run to the leader’s inside. Behind them, Ewa Beach, out of The American, has a neck in front of the stablemate to Proud Eights, Marner. Running on the rail is Wbf No Regrets, for TwinTowersRacing as the inside horse of three wide. Versailles (D J C Racing Stables) is next, then Shining Moments (RNP Stables), and Perfectly Pink (The Freakshow). At the back is not where Perfectly Pink expects to be at this stage of a race.

(3/4 Mile- 1:09.97)- Down the backstretch, La Terrifiant pulls back in front of Proud Eights, and is a half length ahead of her rival entering the turn. A year ago, she won the race while going wire to wire and this style is nothing new to her, so Smokey Stover was surely happy with the way things were looking. No one new is advancing to take a run at them, as third place Ewa Beach is still about two lengths back. Marner is to her inside, but Wbf No Regrets is backing out of it. Versailles might be preparing for a run on the outside while Shining Moments looked for her best lane. Shockingly, Perfectly Pink is still at the tail end of the field.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- La Terrifiant leads the way around the turn and seems poised to add her to win total. It is still only Proud Eights that is close to her, and she has already seemingly won that battle. Ewa Beach runs well in the third position, and clears Marner and the rest of the field, and could perhaps be a spoiler but it would take a great effort from here. Marner was beginning to fold like the Maple Leafs in the first round and Wbf No Regrets had nothing else. Versailles was unable to make any progress, either, and Shining Moments was not showing much. This leaves us with Perfectly Pink, who waited a while to show interest in making a run, but towards the exit of the turn, she moved to the outside but still had only passed one horse. Maybe she could get by a few of them, but this isn’t the way to beat La Terrifiant.

Finish (1:45.78)- La Terrifiant continues to have plenty left in the tank as they run in the stretch, and even though Ewa Beach gets a lot closer to her than I thought she would, it would be La Terrifiant getting it done and winning the race for the second straight year. Hats off to Ewa Beach, who did everything she possibly could to win the Diana, but will settle for second. Too late running Perfectly Pink catches Proud Eights for third. Then, it’s Versailles, Shining Moments, Wbf No Regrets, and Marner.

About The Winner- La Terrifiant, trained by Smokey Stover and ridden to victory by Mario Gutierrez, is a seven year old mare by Pinkman and is out of Cest Creepy. She was bred in California by Four Winds Racing as a second quarter two year old, and acquired by Smokey Stover, via Our Athletes, in a November 2020 private sales for $1,751.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her eighteenth in 49 starts, and her 16th graded win. Her career earnings are now $7,295.000.

Track: Firm
Time: :46⁴  1:09⁴  1:33²  1:45³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 8 Paid 6.10
$1 Trifecta: 4 – 8 – 7 Paid 22.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES