From Santa Anita Publicity
ARCADIA, Calif. (March 16, 2022)—Nick Alexander’s unbeaten homebred Becca Taylor heads a field of seven older fillies and mares going about 6 ½ furlongs down Santa Anita’s hillside turf course in Saturday’s $100,000 Irish O’Brien Stakes. Trained by Steve Miyadi, Becca Taylor will be trying the hillside turf for the first time in what will be her seventh career start.
Named for the multiple stakes winning daughter of D’Artagnan, who was owned by Susan Isaacs, the Irish O’Brien is part of the CTBA-sponsored Golden State Series, for eligible California-bred or sired runners.
Fresh off a 1 ¼ length win versus statebreds going six furlongs on dirt in the Spring Fever Stakes here on Feb. 21, Becca Taylor, who is by Old Topper out Alexander’s General Meeting mare Lady Sax, has one turf race on her resume, a six furlong allowance win out of Santa Anita’s turf chute in her second start on Jan. 18, 2021.
With leading man Flavien Prat riding her back, Becca Taylor, who has banked $274,980 and has been favored in her last four starts, figures to again be the heavy chalk on Saturday.
Becca Taylor’s primary opposition would appear to be the Carla Gaines-trained Sensible Cat, who comes off a pair of solid efforts down the hill, a second place allowance finish on Jan. 7 and a game neck victory at the same second condition allowance level on Jan. 28.
Owned by Irvin Racing Stable and bred by their C-Punch Ranch, Inc., Sensible Cat has a good measure of class, evidenced by the fact she was a California-bred stakes winner on dirt at age two and was a solid third place finisher going a mile and one eighth on turf four starts back at age three in the Grade III Providencia Stakes April 3, 2021.
With three wins from seven tries on grass, Sensible Cat, a 4-year-old filly by Bluegrass Cat out of the Street Sense mare Sensible Girl, has demonstrated an impressive turn of foot in her last two hillside starts and looms very dangerous with Juan Hernandez riding back for the third consecutive time. With an overall mark of 9-4-1-1, she has earnings of $232,220.
Slam Dunk Racing’s homebred She’s Devoted, who pressed the issue every step of the way when finishing second, beaten a nose in a one mile turf allowance on Feb. 12, will hope to step forward off of that race with Joe Bravo riding back. An even eighth, beaten 7 ¾ lengths by runaway winner Leggs Galore in her only other hillside performance, the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint two starts back on Jan. 15, She’s Devoted should give a much better account of herself in what will be her third start of the meet.
Trained by Richard Baltas, She’s Devoted, a 5-year-old mare by Grazen out of the Broken Vow mare Devoted One, has raced exclusively on turf in all six of her starts, winning two and running second in a pair as well.
THE $100,000 IRISH O’BRIEN WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 8 of 9 Approximate post time 4:30 p.m. PT
- Maybe I Will—Ricardo Gonzalez—122
- Becca Taylor—Flavien Prat—124
- Pulpit Rider—Tyler Baze—124
- Sassyverb—Umberto Rispoli—122
- Sensible Cat—Juan Hernandez—124
- Eddie’s New Dream—Mario Gutierrez–122
- She’s Devoted—Joe Bravo—120
First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday is at 1 p.m. with admission gates opening at 11 a.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.