Secret Spice finisDheEsPfOasStIT in BC Distaff drill

ARCADIA, Calif. – Secret Spice had a target Sunday morning at Santa Anita, and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff contender delivered a sharp half-mile workout as trainer Richard Baltas tries to ration her speed in advance of the $2 million Distaff on Nov. 2.

Working a half-mile at 6:40 a.m., Secret Spice broke off behind a Baltas-trained workmate, went after that rival in the lane, smoked her final quarter-mile in 22.60 seconds on Baltas’s watch, and was given a 47.60 official time by track clockers.

“Very impressive,” Baltas said. “It was a little quicker than I wanted, but she did it easy.”

Baltas believes Secret Spice is more effective pressing the pace rather than setting the pace, and hopes she can ration her speed in the Distaff. She earned the two highest speed figures of her career from a pressing position. Last time out, she found herself setting the pace in Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes and finished second as the odds-on favorite.

In the Zenyatta, Secret Spice is believed to have displaced her palate, which restricts the flow of oxygen. She now wears a figure eight while training, and plans call for her to wear it in the Distaff. The equipment, placed on a horse’s head, keeps the horse’s mouth closed to make them to breathe through their nose to help prevent displacement. It is estimated that less than 10 percent of horses wear a figure eight.

John Velazquez will replace Flavien Prat on Secret Spice, according to Billy Koch, managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing Stable, which owns Secret Spice with Bobby Flay.

Secret Spice will work twice more prior to the Distaff. Baltas plans to give her a workmate target for her next workout also. Secret Spice, a Grade 1 winner, has won three races and $548,510 from 13 starts.

La Force taking a shot

Longshot late-runner La Force, who upset Paradise Woods in the Grade 2 Santa Maria at Santa Anita, is a surprising addition to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff field.

Trainer Paddy Gallagher confirmed Sunday morning that the 5-year-old La Force will be pre-entered in the Distaff, which could be the final start of her career. La Force, 3 for 28 with earnings of $599,151, is entered in the Fasig-Tipton November sale on Nov. 5.

“She’s in the sale in Kentucky, we’re here, and the owners want to enjoy the races and take a shot,” Gallagher said. La Force’s owners are Roberta and Ward Williford and Chuck Winner.

The 2019 Distaff will be the third Breeders’ Cup appearance for La Force, a Germanbred who raced three times in Italy before arriving in the United States She placed in a minor stakes in her U.S. debut, followed by a seventh-place finish in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

La Force moved from turf to dirt in late 2017, and the following year improved significantly. She finished second in three successive Grade 1 races in 2018, prior to finishing eighth in the BC Distaff at Churchill Downs.

In June at Santa Anita, La Force won her only graded stakes, an upset victory over Paradise Woods in the Grade 2 Santa Maria. Last time out, La Force finished fourth in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes.

Drayden Van Dyke, regular rider for La Force, will ride her in the Distaff according to Gallagher.

As of Sunday morning, the prospective Distaff field lines up like this, in approximate odds order: Midnight Bisou, Paradise Woods, Blue Prize, Street Band, Serengeti Empress, Secret Spice, Ollie’s Candy, Dunbar Road, and La Force. Elate could cross-enter, but is expected to start in the BC Classic. The status of She’s a Julie and Wow Cat is undetermined. – Brad Free

Just Grazed Me to Maddy

Just Grazed Me will make her graded stakes debut on turf in the Grade 3 Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on Nov. 2 after winning Saturday’s $100,351 California Distaff Handicap for statebred fillies and mares over the same course and distance.

Ridden by Geovanni Franco, Just Grazed Me closed from fourth of six to win by 1 3/4 lengths over the 3-year-old Don’t Sell.

“I like the way she pulled away in the last sixteenth,” trainer Phil D’Amato said.

Owned by breeder Nick Alexander, Just Grazed Me finished third in the Daisycutter Handicap at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar on July 20. She later won an allowance race with a $62,500 claiming option at five furlongs on turf on Aug. 14.

“Every grass race has been better than the last,” D’Amato said. “I’ve been very happy with her progression.”

In the California Distaff, S Y Sky finished fourth as the 6-5 favorite for Alexander and D’Amato. Sunday, D’Amato said that S Y Sky will be given a rest this fall. She has won five stakes, including three this year. – Steve Andersen