Ellafitz looking to complete her hat-trick in the prestigious Grade 1 Santa Margarita Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Ellafitz will be aiming to land the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Stakes, as the mare is backed up with the odds of 6 to 5 favourite for the race. The Grade 1 event will be held at Santa Anita Park on 17th March, 2012.
The five-year-old mare will be racing against Miss Mittagong, Love Theway Youare, Kayce Ace, Awesomemundo and her biggest competitor Include Me Out over a distance of 1 mile and 1 furlong for £116,129.
The daughter of Tiznow, out of Skat Girl, has shown late development as her earlier races were less impressive. She is currently on a winning streak which she will be looking to extend in the Santa Margarita Stakes.
Her winning streak began on 5th December, 2011 at Hollywood Park, where she defeated, Miss Mittagong, by 3 ¼ lengths in the Grade 2 Bayakoa Handicap, which she entered with the odds of 49 to 10. Bob Baffert, her trainer, was
pleased that the mare finally brought all she had to the table leading to her victory.
Her second first place finish was at Santa Anita Park on 19th February, 2012, where she was coupled with M. Garcia. She enjoyed the status of race favourite.
She defeated Miss Mittagong again, this time by a narrower difference of 1 ¼ lengths in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Stakes.
In this race Ellafitz will be looking to give Baffert his first triumph in the Grade 1 event. His comprehensive training should be of use in this race, as the mare is gaining popularity in the market.
Ellafitz breaks from post number four, under jockey Martin Garcia for trainer Bob Baffert.
Miss Mittagong will be sent as the 6 to 1 favourite, who drew the rail in the race. Include Me Out, who is the 9 to 5 second choice, will look to match strides with Ellafitz, who drew post number 5 along side Ellafitz.
Owned by the Jay Em Ess Stable, Include Me Out is gaining attention in the market for this race. Trained by Ronald W. Ellis, the four-year-old filly has already bagged a victory at Santa Anita Park.
Ellis is hoping that the filly will be motivated to perform an encore of her previous race. She entered the Grade 2 La Canada Stakes with the odds of 17 to 2, and emerged victorious by defeating, Great Hot, by 4 ¼ lengths on 23rd January,
2012.
Joe Talamo guided her to victory in this race. She was steered from her rivals in the upper stretch and led to wire, where she comfortably claimed the victory.
This race was an opportunity of redemption for her, as her performance before that was not satisfactory for her connections. She finished in fifth place in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes held at the same venue on 1st January, 2012.
With these runners in their best possible form, it is hard to predict a winner. Will Ellafitz be able to able to earn her first Grade 1 victory and finish her hat-trick or will Include Me Out give her a run for money and claim victory.
The bettors are keeping a keen eye on both of them to see who will be crowned in this prestigious race.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely the writer’s own and do not reflect the editorial policy of Bettor.com
Tags: