Santa Monica Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
February 13, 2021

In the 17th running of the Santa Monica Stakes, Mb Stables was able to pick up his third win in the race thanks to Orange Beach, a five year old mare by Born To Be Bad. For the trainer, it was his third win in five years, having also won in 2017 with Lea and last year with First Impression. It would be just part of a great day at the races for Mb Stables, so I think it is safe to say that all is okay in that barn, on the off chance that anyone was slightly concerned about that. F Prat is the winning jockey, and that’s a first for him. Congratulations to them! The race would be run in a time of 1:21.60, the third fastest time recorded by a winner in this race. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :23.06)- It is a clean start for everyone, but four of the horses are clearly more interested in being at the front than the other four. As a part of the early breakaway, post-time favorite Hawaiian Crusader is the quickest and leads by a length after a quarter mile. On the outside, Silver Jazzmin, from The Sidley Stud, pulls a neck in front for second, ahead of Roo, out of Our Athletes, and First Street Stables’ Z Is For Zero. After the front four, there is a gap of about two lengths to the other four, who ran four wide initially. Orange Beach, our eventual winner from Mb Stables, is the leader of this group, and she runs on the rail with On The Flop (Team 7 Illusions) right beside her. Beldame (D J C Racing Stables) is between them and within a length. Zero Twist (John Henry) trails, but has not been left behind.

(½ Mile- :46.24)- Down the backstretch and into the turn, there is not much change in what is going on at the front of the field. Hawaiian Crusader continues to hold the top spot with Silver Jazzmin running beside her. Roo loses a little bit of ground to them, but is still third and within a length. Z Is For Zero drops back while the other Zero, Zero Twist makes a big push forward in the backstretch. This would close that gap that had previously existed between the front four and back four. Orange Beach continued to ride the rail in a patient manner while preparing to pass Z Is For Zero in the turn. On The Flop was nearby but did not currently have running room if she wanted to push forward. Beldame is at the back and hoping for opening along the inside.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- When it looked like, for a moment, that Roo might be losing some ground, our pick to win the race turned it up a notch and was excellent in the turn. Gracefully, she would pull to the outside of Hawaiian Crusader, and assumed the top spot entering the stretch. Silver Jazzmin did not have a response for this, either. Orange Beach liked the move of Roo, so F Prat decided to follow it, moving over a lane to get by Hawaiian Crusader while hoping to make the additional move for the win in the stretch. Z Is For Zero was fading and Zero Twist looked like she may have used up to much energy in the backstretch. An opening now existed for On The Flop to do something if she was able and Beldame was making a move now from the back, potentially trying to follow Orange Beach.

(Finish- 1:21.60)- Early in the stretch, Roo looked great, and had everyone but one soundly beaten at this point. However, there was still the matter of Orange Beach, who was able to stay with her right behind her with the ability of making that move for the win. It was not a powerful push, but every stride in the stretch, Orange Beach was just a little bit faster and that allowed her to make her move. Within half a furlong, Roo did not have an answer, and Orange Beach completed the pass for the win, and does so by half a length. Beldame came on strong, though not enough to threaten the top two over seven furlongs, it gets her a third place check. On The Flop is fourth, another length behind. Silver Jazzmin, Zero Twist, Hawaiian Crusader, and Z Is For Zero round it out.

About The Winner- Orange Beach, trained by Mb Stables and ridden to victory by F Prat, is a five year old mare by Born To Be Bad, and is out of Make A Promise. She was bred in California as a first quarter two year old by Oquinn Farm, and was acquired by Mb Stables in February 2019 private sales for $100.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her seventh in 18 starts, her third stake win, and first graded win. Her career earnings are now $471.510.

Track: Fast
Time: :23   :46¹  1:09³  1:21³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 1 Paid 168.80
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 1 – 4 Paid 699.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES