La Canada Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies And Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
January 13, 2018

A small field took to the gate for the La Canada Stakes, but the presence of Wicked Heat in the race made it an exciting affair. In theory anyway, as the betting public emphatically made a statement that they thought she was finished, making her a 27/1 longshot. That’s four times more then the second longest shot on the board, the won she finished second to in this race. In the winner’s circle was Osmium, a four year old Copper Bottom filly who has run well in several second tier stakes in her career to this point. She seems to still be getting better, so it’s going to be interesting if it’s a case of winning the La Canada today and big Grade 1’s tomorrow. It was the first win in the stake for trainer D J C Racing Stables, and the second for jockey J Talamo, who’s now gone back to back. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:35.09. As this was the first time the stake was run at a mile, we can’t compare that to prior runnings of the race. Let’s look at it!

(1/4 mile- :23.82)- There is no one in the field that seems particularly shot out of the gate, but Forgotten Past emerges with the lead for Mb Stables as they move into the first turn, and she starts to pull away by a length and a half. That’s where you’ll find Eviction (Nakamura Stables) and Wicked Heat (EasyMoney Stables) running side by side, with Osmium just another length behind them for D J C Racing Stables.

(½ mile- :47.45)- Still a rather methodical pace going on as Forgotten Past runs out on the lead with no one challenging her. Eviction continues to be her shadow that is racing a length and a half behind her, but Wicked Heat is no longer there. That one seemed to go into a restrain mode, dropping to the rear and over four lengths out during the second quarter of the race; and doing so despite that somewhat lax early fractions. The one that was just minding her own business in all this was Osmium, keeping a steady stride, running behind Eviction, and paying no mind to what Wicked Heat or anyone else was doing at this point.

(Top Of Stretch- 1.7F To Go)- Forgotten Past is still leading, but is now a sitting duck. Towards the end of the backstretch, Osmium began to set her sights on making a move to the outside of Eviction, and executed that pass efficiently during the turn. This brought her ever so closer to Forgotten Past, gaining about three lengths on her during the turn. It seemed inevitable that she would take over the lead soon in the stretch run. Wicked Heat began to follow this move, raising the question, why did you drop back to begin with?

(Finish- 1:35.09)- Osmium does not take long to draw even and eventually pass Forgotten Past. In the stretch, there was no one matching the powerful stride of Osmium, and she was able to cruise to a victory. Emerging second would actually be Wicked Heat, who late in the race was closing on Osmium, but ran out of time. Keep in mind that Wicked Heat has made her living running a little longer then this, so do not write her off yet. Forgotten Past was hanging on pretty good in the stretch, but was caught in the dying moments by Eviction for the third spot.

About The Winner- Osmium, trained by D J C Racing Stables and ridden by J Talamo, is a four year old filly by Copper Bottom, and is out of Real Character. She was bred in New York as a third quarter two year old by Team 7 Illusions, who sold her unraced to D J C Racing Stables in an August 2016 private sale for $110.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her fifth in eleven starts, her third stake win, and her second graded win. Her career earnings are now $412.380.

Track: Fast
Time: :23⁴  :47²  1:10⁴  1:35

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 4 – 2 Paid 319.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES