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 17, 2021

The Diana is a great race held at SAR for older females, sending them nine furlongs over the turf course, so it should come as no surprise that this Grade 1 stake has seen some great winners in the past. Twice has a horse won this race in back to back years, with Miz Liz doing so in 2009 and 2010, and then A Little Oblivion accomplishing the feat in 2011 and 2012. Other great winners include Attraction, who had a thriller in a dead heat in 2016, and if you want to go back in time further, Darling Harbour made it to the Diana’s winner circle in 2006. We won’t have a repeat winner in 2021, as last year’s winner, Holualoa has moved on, but her trainer, Smokey Stover is looking for a threepeat. His winner in 2019 was Na Pali, and he has the favorite in this race as well. It won’t take that long to get to her, so here is the field, which is absolutely star studded!

#1- La Terrifiant (Smokey Stover, ridden by J Alvarado)- I am of the belief that whenever this horse is in the starting gate, she should be considered a favorite. Sure, she is not winning everything anymore, but she remains a great horse that is two-for-six (and two other seconds) this year. In May, she beat a few of these that she sees again in the CD Distaff Turf Mile. It seems as though she would be a suitable entry on that past winners list, doesn’t it? You could argue that she’s not even Smokey’s best horse in the race, but this is a legendary horse that one can never overlook.

#2- Forbidden Blush (Smokey Stover, ridden by S Ryan)- Put her resume up against her stablemate, and no one is going to pick her. But is she the new up and coming prospect that might be ready to take the baton from La Terrifiant. Well, she’s been winning alright, entering The Diana on a six race winning streak, with her last victory being the Grade 2 NY down at BEL last month. Loves running long, and this will be a good distance for her. Without a doubt, Smokey is excited for this race!

#3- Proud Eights (Estero Farms, ridden by A Beschizza)- She’s had a great career in her own right, being just a few bucks shy of $1,200.000 in career earnings. Has run in the BC Fillies and Mares Turf twice, but has not hit the board in either of them. Looks like she is heading right back there, with back to back wins in the Grade 1 Wiley and the Grade 1 Gamely, the latter of which she won by three lengths. Proud Eights is more than rested for this, and would love to prove that she is the best in the division right year. Might be poised here to stop the Smokey three-peat.

#4- Hash Tag Hash (Fractious, ridden by D E Centeno)- A former stablemate of Proud Eights, being a part of the Estero Farms arsenal before she was sold in private sales for $150.000 last April. That came a week after she was second in the Grade 2 Royal Heroine Stakes, her second straight runner up in a Grade 2. With Fractious, she has one win, coming in her last start in the Grade 1 Just A Game, and is more than capable of winning this as well.

#5- Ewa Beach (The American, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- Proved to be a great claim from Smokey Stover last December, as The American acquired her for just $20.000. She had run in stakes previously, and the trainer was convinced that she would still be able to. At the start of the year, she won the Grade 3 Marshua River at GP, and since then she has been third in three graded stakes, including the Just A Game last month. She’ll have to be at her best here, but this is in her wheelhouse.

#6- Bagina (Chili King Stables, ridden by J R Leparoux)- Ran in the Diana last year, and picked up a fourth place check. She has only won one race since then, and that was the Grade 2 Hillsborough at TAM in March. Comes off a second place effort in a smaller Grade 3, but has been a little too inconsistent against top flight competition, like this crowd, for me to think she can get it done.

#7- Sweetness (High Voltage, ridden by J Rosario)- It has been a little over a year since this horse was in the winners circle. That would be in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes. Since then, she’s had a few good runs, and it is promising to see that one of them was her last second, as the runner up in the Grade 2 NY. In her last three races, she has been on the best form that she has been on in quite some time. Not one of the favorites, but wouldn’t shock me, either.

#8- Intagna Rose (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J Lezcano)- She comes out of the Grade 2 NY as well, and ended up third, behind Forbidden Blush and Sweetness. That came at odds of 83/1, which a shocking price for her, and if that is seen again, or anything close to it, take a shot at her. If you throw out a very ugly race line on soft turf (and I certainly will be), Intagna Rose has been excellent since last October, including a three length win in the Grade 1 American Oaks. Lezcano has been working for her lately, and I expect her to be close, if not on top.

#9- Phoe Eva (Angelos Stable, ridden by M J Sanchez)- An up and coming horse that’s run mostly in claimers for her career, and at times, for some low amounts. But that didn’t have to be Phoe Eva, and she has been climbing the ladder quite nicely. She enters this race on a three race winning streak, with the Grade 3 Wilshire Stakes being the last of it. This is much different, but she has earned the chance. I just think this is a tough field for this type of horse, but we’ll be seeing more of her.

#10- Zee Model (Gdp Inc, ridden by B J Hernandez Jr)- This five year old mare by Z Jinxed One as won six of her sixteen starts, but always seems to run a strong race as only three times has she failed to get some form of the purse for her trainer. This will be a challenge for her, but she has stepped up well in the past, including a win in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at SA in February. Was second to Phoe Eva in her last start, after setting the pace in the Wilshire Stakes.

#11- Hallowed Halls (Rock Creek, ridden by P Husbands)- Starting on the outside, Hallowed Halls will have her hands full here. She’s plenty capable, but will need to be much better than she was in her last start, the Grade 2 NY, where she was seventh and missed by fourth lengths. The top three from that race are all here, and that doesn’t even include a couple other top threats. She likes to come from well off the pace, so we’ll keep an eye out for her in the stretch, but I’d be putting my money elsewhere.

Prediction: 3-1-2-8

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES