Showdown will have to wait

ARCADIA, Calif. – A peculiar turn of events has postponed a Monday showdown between flashy maiden winners who eventually may invigorate the 3-year-old filly division at Santa Anita.

At first, an early-season clash between Coffee in Bed and Clearly Unhinged was not likely. They were headed to different races – Coffee in Bed to a graded route, Clearly Unhinged to an allowance sprint.

But rain forced the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel to be delayed to March 5, and in the interim Coffee in Bed “tied up.” The stomach cramps prevented her from running. Trainer Richard Mandella, who has referred to Coffee in Bed as “maybe the best filly we have,” redirected her to an allowance sprint originally scheduled for Friday.

The race would have been highly anticipated, because the field include Clearly Unhinged. Her smashing debut, at 6 1/2 furlongs, earned an 89 Beyer, second highest on dirt this year by a 3-year-old filly.

Then another storm hit, and Friday’s card was canceled. By the time the allowance was redrawn for Monday, the owners of Clearly Unhinged, Rock Brothers Racing, had opted to take a big swing by passing the allowance and gunning for the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 8.

“It’s a bit of a step up from six and a half to a mile and a sixteenth,” trainer Michael McCarthy said regarding Clearly Unhinged, an Into Mischief filly. “But the group would like to give her a shot in the Oaks. Out of a Smart Strike mare, it seems like she should handle some added distance.”

The idea – a maiden sprint winner running in a graded route – is not crazy. Soothsay won the 2021 Santa Anita Oaks stretching out from a debut sprint win; Paradise Woods won the 2017 Oaks stretching out from a maiden victory.

Besides, the 3-year-old filly division in California and everywhere else is underwhelming so far. That could change in the Santa Anita Oaks, when Clearly Unhinged meets Faiza and And Tell Me Nolies. Meanwhile, Coffee in Bed takes the spotlight Monday.

A half-dozen were entered in the seven-furlong allowance. Coffee in Bed’s rivals include Aqueduct maiden winner Anywho; Liberal Lady, who steamrolled maidens by more than five last out; and Getthemoney, a runaway maiden winner in September who scratched from a Feb. 19 allowance after she also tied up. Lily Poo and Classy Mademoiselle also were entered.

Coffee in Bed paid $40.80 winning her debut Jan. 6. The odds were out of whack relative to her reputation.

“We always thought she was one of the best, maybe the best filly we have,” Mandella said. “She’s kind of a smaller filly, and I kept her works kind of easy, and she’d had a shin about two months before.”

Coffee in Bed raced inside, took dirt, angled out and won going away with a 77 Beyer. Owned by Spendthrift Farm, Coffee in Bed is a Curlin filly whom Mandella eventually will stretch out. For now, seven furlongs is appropriate. Coffee in Bed will chase the pace likely to be set by either Getthemoney or Liberal Lady.