Santa Monica Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 1, 2025

It’s a new year for Lady Sammyantha, but it would start off as it was simply a continuation of 2024, as the award winning, BC Champion from The Sidley Stud made her trip to SA a successful one, capturing the Santa Monica Stakes. It’s the fifth consecutive win for the now seven-year-old mare, as she is not hindered by starting from the outside or needing to carry four more pounds than everyone else. The win is the first in this race both for The Sidley Stud and for jockey F T Alvarado. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:21.68, a middle of the road such time. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :22.56)- John Henry’s Midnight Star breaks the quickest from the gate, but a surge from The Sidley Stud’s Killeacle Girl will see that one be the early leader, and it is by half a length. Stalking the top two, we have the pair of Awesome Angel and My Pretty, respectively from TwinTowersRacing and Threshold, and running right behind them is the Alydar Stables- trained Devils Bride. Lucky Star is about a half length behind that one for Maxmillion Farm, and running in the seventh position early on is where we find our eventual winner from The Sidley Stud, Lady Sammyantha, who was also the post time favorite and our pick to win. Cool Compress is next on the rail for Rock Creek, as Vanessa (Royalty Stables) runs between horses. Next is Military Made (Spb Racing), and trailing are Bla Bla Bla (TwinTowersRacing) and Lady Lara (Night Mare Racing).

(½ Mile- :45.96)- Towards the end of the backstretch, Killeacle Girl begins to pull away from Midnight Star, and leads by almost a full length at the top of the turn. Awesome Angel and My Pretty are still content to stalk the pace, and running behind them, is a trio of horses that features Lady Sammyantha looking to inch forward just a little bit while in the third lane. To her inside, and they are slightly ahead of her at this point, are Devils Bride and Lucky Star. Vanessa, who had been running closer to them, loses some ground that she may regret later. Military Made gets by Cool Compress, and further back Bla Bla Bla and Lady Lara have not shown much interest yet.

(Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Entering the top of the stretch, The Sidley Stud had to like what he was seeing. Killeacle Girl was still at the front, but that wasn’t necessarily the reason for him to get excited. Lady Sammyantha was hitting her best stride and looking to pounce in the stretch to take home the victory. She was running in the fourth lane, and caught the likes of Midnight Star, Awesome Angel, and My Pretty, so quickly that she was essentially even with them at this point with only her stablemate to get. Elsewhere, Devils Bride had a nice running lane, and Vanessa was looking to make an outside run. If they weren’t already behind Lady Sammyantha, that those could have been a little more interesting. Bla Bla Bla and Lady Lara were beginning to wake up at this point, but did not have a lot of time left.

(Finish- 1:21.68)- For a brief moment, The Sidley Stud may have been concerned about Devils Bride early in the stretch, but Lady Sammyantha knows how to fend off a challenger like that and would be able to do so. In the final furlong, it would be about catching her stablemate. Killeacle Girl would start to tire late, allowing Lady Sammyantha to win comfortably by half a length over a valiant Vanessa on the outside, while Devils Bride and the late running Bla Bla Bla will dead heat for show. Lady Lara came on late but could only get by the other The Sidley Stud horse, Killeacle Girl. The rest of the running order will read Military Made, Awesome Angel, My Pretty, Lucky Star, Midnight Star, and Cool Compress.

About The Winner- Lady Sammyantha, trained by The Sidley Stud and ridden to victory F T Alvarado, is a seven-year-old mare by Ginger Haggis and is out Madame Broulard. She was bred in Ontario as a yearling by The Sidley Stud, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her 17th in 46 starts, her 16th stake win and 14th graded win. Her career earnings are now $3,820.640.

Track: Fast
Time: :22²  :45⁴  1:10  1:21³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 12 – 5 Paid 81.60
$1 Trifecta: 12 – 5 – 2 Paid 94.60, 12 – 5 – 6 Paid 375.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES