Santa Ysabel Stakes – Grade III
$100.000 For Fillies Three Years Old
1 1/16 Miles – Dirt
Santa Anita Park – March 8, 2026
How does a race with a $100,000 purse draw an overflow field of sixteen three-year-old fillies? It’s mind boggling. Oh yeah… KY Oaks qualifying points. With two months to go until the sophomore fillies get loaded into the gate at Churchill Downs the points needed to get there are everything. The fact that an Oaks qualifying race only offers a $100.000 purse says all you need to know about real life CA racing but that is a tangent I won’t take as I wouldn’t be able to continue this preview through the tears if I did. Anyway, let’s look at the sixteen fillies who would love to make the field and take the prize at the historic and beautiful Santa Anita Park this coming Saturday. We have twelve in the main field with four Also Eligibles so grab a drink and settle in.
1. Wicked Angelina (The Sidley Stud/P. Lopez) Currently twentieth in KY Oaks qualifying with 18 points. Was an early two-year-old star winning the G1 DMR Debutante last summer. She made her way to the BC Juvenile Fillies where she finished a fast closing fifth. She has two seconds since then including her three-year-old debut in The Martha Washington where she was again closing fast, missing by just a half of a length. She comes into this race off of her career high SRF speed figure of 95. Her biggest challenge might be making her way through the field.
2. American Park (Jive Inc./F.S. Valdez) She was picked up at auction for $88.010 following her debut win at Aqueduct. She has made two starts for her new barn winning her last outing in January in a Sunland overnight. Both of her post auction races have been on off tracks, and she will finally get back on a fast track on Sunday. She is making her stakes debut here and has definitely picked a tough spot for it.
3. Firewall (Mb Stables/J.R. Velasquez) Currently twenty-eighth in KY Oaks qualifying with 14 points. The first of two entries from Mb Stables. She has had four career starts and has won two of them. Her first two starts and her maiden win were going five furlongs on the grass. Her second win came going nine furlongs in the G2 Demoiselle on a muddy track. Her only fast dirt track start came in her last race where she ran a solid fourth in the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park. Has yet to show tactical versatility so the expectation is she will go forward from post three.
4. Idlingawaythehours (Riggins Racing/E. Maldonado) Currently forty-second in KY Oaks qualifying with 9 points. She was purchased for $450.000 following her second-place finish in the G2 Oak Leaf at Del Mar as a two-year-old. She was given a four-month break and came back to make her barn debut as a three-year-old in The Suncoast Stakes. She ran a very encouraging fourth that day closing fast after starting from post ten. She draws a much better post position for this race.
5. Indubita (Mb Stables/I. Ortiz Jr.) The second entry for Mb Stables is a multiple stakes winner. On grass. Those wins include the G3 Matron so she has talent. What she does not have is a win on the dirt. She has three starts on dirt and boasts a second-place finish in her second start as her best result. She has not been seen since running ninth in the G2 Demoiselle. Having said all of that you know that this barn kind of knows what they are doing so she is here for a reason. The Demoiselle was on a muddy track and was her first route attempt. Throw that out. Her dirt works are in league with the others she will be lining up with. Might be overlooked for an overlay price if you are so inclined.
6. Boardwalk Freak (Noblepark/A. Fresu) Very lightly raced filly will be making her fourth start. From her three previous races she has one win and has not been worse than second. Made her stakes debut a month ago in the Valdale Stakes where she was a hard charging second. That was also her longest race at 6.5 furlongs. She will be attempting to route as well as making her graded stakes debut. Is working fast and has not yet put a foot wrong but this is the toughest field she has faced to date.
7. Game The System (Arindel/M.E. Smith) Good to see an Arindel entry in the field. The powerhouse stable has downsized and stepped back in recent years but is still here and that is a good thing for the health of the game. The barn comes into this with a recent $25.000 claim that they obviously thought highly of having placed her in a stakes race a few weeks after the claim. She won the Valdale in that barn debut and is taking the next step up making her graded stakes debut here. She is another who is being asked to go a route of ground for the first time as well. Her running lines indicate that she is also likely to be forwardly placed having shown plenty of sprint speed.
8. Dearest Lady (Royalty Stables/L. Machado) She showed very early promise having been second in the My Dear Stakes and then third in the G1 Spinaway at Saratoga following her win at first asking. It has not gone quite as well for her in two subsequent starts. She was way up the track in the G2 Oak Leaf after which she was purchased at auction for $100.000 by current owner Royalty Stables. She has made one start for the barn and that was in the Silverbulletday at the Fair Grounds in mid-January where she finished tenth of twelve not showing much interest in any part of the race. Obviously, a return to form is hoped for.
9. Monarchy (Mo Mentum Farm/V. Espinoza) Currently fifteenth in KY Oaks standings with 20 points. Three starts. Three wins. The Mo Mentum Farm homebred comes into this race with a perfect record including two stakes wins following her impressive Woodbine debut two length win. She won the SUN Oaks in her three-year-old debut and she looks to continue that progression in her initial graded stakes attempt. She showed a new dimension in the SUN Oaks coming from off the pace for the first time. She has drawn pretty far outside so that versatility gives her trainer welcome options. The triple crown nomination next to her name is a good indication of how highly thought of she is.
10. Rock Steady (Our Athletes/F. Geroux) Her career to date seems to mirror that of Dearest Lady in post eight. Both were bred by Rampage Stable and were offered in the December auction following debut wins followed by two promising stakes starts then followed by a disappointing third stakes effort. Purchased at that auction for $185.99 by Rock Steady she has made one start for her new barn which was a disappointing eleventh place run in the Martha Washington. Again, a similar running line to her former barn mate. The same sentiment applies to her as well in that a return to form is obviously what is hoped for.
11. Valley Center (Nakamura Stables/R. Bejarano) Nakamura homebred filly has won three of seven starts and has only been off the board one time although she has picked up a check for the barn in all seven. She is a consistent contender and has shown versatility in her running style coming from midpack in her last start when she won The Suncoast Stakes to become a stakes winner – the third stakes winner from six foals to start for her dam Apricot Valley. Has to be considered a contender.
12. Breathtaking (Big Guns Stables/M. Franco) Currently eighteenth in KY Oaks qualifying with 20 points. The last of the fillies currently in the main field she has won three of her five lifetime races including her last race where she made her dirt and stakes debut in winning the Las Virgenes Stakes here at Santa Anita. She started from post five that day and the draw finds her starting on the far outside for this one. It is not a huge run into the first turn at this distance at The Great Raceplace but she has shown plenty of early foot in all of her races so she might be able to clear and establish position despite the draw.
AE: Facts Of Love (Alydar Stables/TBD) Has been first or second in three of her four starts including two good seconds in her last two races here at Santa Anita. Would be meeting far tougher should she get in but has shown promise.
AE: Balance That Budget (Rock Creek/TBD) Currently in thirtieth place in KY Oaks qualifying with 13 points. She has made seven starts and has a graded stakes placing in the G2 Starlet as well as a very good second in the Silverbulletday to start off her three-year-old year. Not able to get in off of earnings per race which has to be a bitter pill to swallow given that she has shown she can compete at this level and is in the thick of the race to get into the Oaks.
AE: Hot Bobbygum (Williams9/TBD) Currently fifty-eighth in KY Oaks qualifying with 3 points. She has one win from eight starts with a couple of stakes placings including a third-place finish in the Santa Ynez at this track in January. Another with KY Oaks points that needs some defections to get into the gate on Sunday. Is triple crown nominated as well but just does not have the earnings per race to make it straight in.
AE: Hostile Pentecostal (Bigchief Stables/TBD) Homebred Bigchief Stables filly was looking to make her stakes debut in the Santa Ysabel following her maiden win at this track. Finds herself fourth AE and with a 0% chance of rain currently the odds seem against her getting in.
So, who is the pick? I have to go with Monarchy until someone shows they can beat her. Her ability to rate makes her even more of a threat than her first two starts alone would have indicated. I wish that Breathtaking had drawn better but I will still make her my second choice with Wicked Angelina along the rail third. I think recent claimer Game The System will continue her upward trajectory and finish up fourth.
Best name: Hot Bobbygum – no idea what it means but it sounds funny. Honorable mention: Balance That Budget. Gotta feel for the AEs.
Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES