Unique Bella faces stiff test from Grade 1 duo

ARCADIA, Calif. – Unique Bella’s status among the nation’s 3-year-old fillies is soaring with every start. Already a two-time graded stakes winner this year, Unique Bella will be a heavy favorite to win Saturday’s Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita.

“I haven’t gotten to the bottom of her,” jockey Mike Smith said on Thursday.

The $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes will be Unique Bella’s toughest test and her final start before a scheduled appearance in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on April 8. The field of seven in the Santa Ysabel has two Grade 1 winners – Abel Tasman, who won the Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos in December, and Noted and Quoted, the winner of the Chandelier Stakes here in October.

The Santa Ysabel is the sixth race on a 10-race program that begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific.

KEY CONTENDERS

Unique Bella, by Tapit Last 3 Beyers: 99-91-87

◗ Owned by Don Alberto Stable and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Unique Bella has won three consecutive starts, each more impressively than the last. She beat maidens at Del Mar at 6 1/2 furlongs by 10 1/4 lengths on Nov. 26, won the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at seven furlongs by 7 1/2 lengths on Jan. 8, and took the Grade 2 Las Virgenes Stakes at a mile by 8 3/4 lengths on Feb. 5.

◗ In the Las Virgenes Stakes, Unique Bella easily beat Champagne Room, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2016 and the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies here in November. Champagne Room finished third, beaten 10 lengths.

◗ In the Santa Ysabel, Unique Bella will break from the rail. Smith plans to take an aggressive approach in the opening furlong.

“I’m anxious to see what she can do when she goes two turns again,” he said.

“I’ll let her run out of there. If someone wants to go with her, they’ll have to be quick to do it. I want to get a good spot.”

◗ Unique Bella led throughout her maiden win and raced as a stalker for the first quartermile of the Las Virgenes before taking command on the backstretch.

“She wanted to stretch her legs,” Smith said.

Abel Tasman, by Quality Road Last 3 Beyers: 84-82-61

◗ Abel Tasman has won three consecutive starts, including a maiden race here in September and an allowance race at Del Mar in November. In the Starlet, she closed from seventh in a field of nine to win the race at 1 1/16 miles by a length in a 12-1 upset.

◗ Trainer Simon Callaghan said he always planned a winter break for Abel Tasman. He intends to give her two starts before the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5.

“I think she’s where we need her for her first race back,” he said last weekend. “It will be a good springboard to progress into her next race. Hopefully, we can have her peaking by May, which is the most important thing. That’s why we were anxious to give her some time off.”

Noted and Quoted, by The Factor Last 3 Beyers: 62-80-69

◗ Noted and Quoted disputed the pace throughout the Chandelier Stakes before winning by a half-length. She had a similar trip in the BC Juvenile Fillies and faded in the final furlong to finish 10 lengths behind Champagne Room.

◗ Trained by Bob Baffert, Noted and Quoted will be ridden for the first time by Martin Garcia in the Santa Ysabel.