Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Grass course is D’Amato’s home turf
ARCADIA, Calif. – When Charmaine’s Mia won Saturday’s Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes for fillies and mares on turf at Santa Anita, Phil D’Amato secured his seventh stakes victory of the meeting, leaving him in a tie with Bob Baffert as the leading stakeswinning trainer of the winterspring meeting.
All of D’Amato’s stakes wins since opening day on Dec. 26 have been on turf. Baffert’s seven stakes wins have all been on dirt.
D’Amato does not project a dirt stakes win for his stable in the short-term future.
“Maybe when Bob Baffert retires,” D’Amato said Sunday.
Hall of Famer Baffert, 67, has no plans to quit. For his part, D’Amato, 44, is fine with his stable’s specialty on turf.
“It’s one of those things,” he said. “You don’t have to spend quite as much to find a good grass horse as a good dirt horse.
“It’s been in my budget, and we’ve focused on that this year. We’d love to win some dirt stakes. It’s a different ballgame when you’re trying to compete with those guys and the money they have at hand.”
D’Amato’s last 23 stakes wins have been on turf. His last main-track stakes win came when Ruby Bradley won the Melair Stakes for statebred 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita in June 2019.
Charmaine’s Mia became the first two-time stakes winner of the meeting in the $202,000 Buena Vista Stakes at a mile. Charmaine’s Mia won the Grade 3 Las Cienegas Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs on turf Jan. 9, her first start in California.
A 5-year-old mare by The Factor, Charmaine’s Mia races for Rocking Robin Racing Stable and Agave Racing. A winner of 6 of 26 starts and $352,976, Charmaine’s Mia was acquired last fall from owner and trainer Michael McDonald, who raced the mare in Canada and Florida in 2020.
The stakes wins in a sprint and at a mile have left D’Amato and his clients with options for Charmaine’s Mia’s next race, which could be outside of California. The next race for the division at Santa Anita is the Grade 2 Royal Heroine Stakes at a mile on turf April 3.
“I was very impressed and proud of her,” D’Amato said of Saturday’s win. “She’s a goodtraining filly and so sound. I knew I had her as fit as I could get her. I knew we’d see what she can do.
“Nothing is set in stone. By year’s end, we’d like to take a shot in a Grade 1 and give her a chance to have a nice [pedigree] page.”
D’Amato’s next stakes runner at Santa Anita will come in Saturday’s $100,000 Pasadena Stakes at a mile on turf for 3-year-olds. D’Amato has three prospects in Cathkin Peak, Coulthard, and Earls Rock. Cathkin Peak won the $80,150 Eddie Logan Stakes at a mile on turf Dec. 27, while Earls Rock won the $84,200 Baffle Stakes at six furlongs on turf Feb. 5. Coulthard won a maiden race in his American debut on Feb. 5.
All three were bred in Ireland and began their career in that country last year before being acquired by D’Amato’s clients.
Life Is Good drills for San Felipe
Life Is Good, winner of the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Jan. 2 at Santa Anita in his stakes debut and the most highly regarded 3-year-old in Southern California, breezed five furlongs in 59.60 seconds on Sunday in preparation for the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 6.
Trained by Baffert, Life Is Good has been given a breezing designation in his last two workouts, including five furlongs in 1:00.80 on Feb. 15. California clockers use the breezing designation to indicate that a horse was working more easily than a horse that was rated as working handily.
Life Is Good is unbeaten in two starts, having won a maiden special weight race at 6 1/2 furlongs on Nov. 22 at Del Mar. Life Is Good won the onemile Sham Stakes by threequarters of a length over stablemate Medina Spirit.
The $300,000 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles is a key prep for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 3.
The Baffert-trained Freedom Fighter worked six furlongs in 1:13 on Sunday in advance of a scheduled start in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at a mile on March 6 at Aqueduct. Freedom Fighter was second in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 6 in his 3-year-old debut.
Saturday, Roman Centurian, second in the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes on Jan. 30 for trainer Simon Callaghan, worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 for the San Felipe.
Doug O’Neill worked his two leading 3-year-old prospects in Hot Rod Charlie and The Great One on Saturday.
Hot Rod Charlie, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland in November and third in the Lewis, worked five furlongs in 1:02 for the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 20 at Fair Grounds. The Great One, second by a nose in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.20 for the San Felipe.