SANTA ANITA: GIII AUTUMN MISS STAKES PREVIEW

By Mike Willman —-

MS BAD BEHAVIOR
Benoit Photo

COMEBACKING TOINETTE HEADS GRADE III, $100,000 AUTUMN MISS STAKES AT ONE MILE ON TURF THIS SATURDAY AT SANTA ANITA; MS BAD BEHAVIOR, WEST PALM BEACH, STREAK OF LUCK & SO HI SOCIETY ALSO PROMINENT IN FIELD OF 14

ARCADIA, Calif. (Oct. 24, 2018)—A highly regarded winner of three out her five starts, trainer Neil Drysdale’s Toinette, idle since July 7, heads a competitive field of 14 sophomore fillies in Saturday’s Grade III, $100,000 Autumn Miss Stakes, which will be contested at one mile over the Santa Anita turf.

Also prominent in Saturday’s Autumn Miss are the consistent Richard Baltas-trained Ms Bad Behavior, Simon Callaghan’s West Palm Beach, who has also been on the shelf since July, Matt Chew’s California-bred Streak of Luck, who is a neck shy of being on a three-game winning streak and Jeff Mullins’ Irish-bred So Hi Society, who was twice stakes-placed earlier this year at Monmouth Park.

TOINETTE
Owner: Ken Baca, Lisa & Nicholas Hawkins and Joseph & Lynne Hudson
Trainer: Neil Drysdale
A clear standout if ready, this Kentucky-bred daughter of Scat Daddy pressed the early pace and then gave way to finish ninth as the 7-2 second choice in a field of 10 in the Grade I Belmont Oaks Invitational at a mile and a quarter on turf July 7. A winner of three out her five starts, she overcame a rough start to take the Grade III Edgewood Stakes by a neck when going 1 1/16 miles on turf at Churchill Downs May 4. Prior to that, she pressed the pace en route to a half length allowance win over the Keeneland turf going 1 1/16 miles on In her second start, a maiden special weight here at 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course on Jan. 28, she was pinched back to last following the break and rallied to win by a nose in a field of nine. The Autumn Miss will mark her first start back at her Santa Anita base.

MS BAD BEHAVIOR
Owner: Sayjay Racing, LLC, Greg Hall & Brooke Hubbard
Trainer: Richard Baltas
One of three Baltas-trained entrants, this Ontario-Canadian-bred has been a gem of consistency, posting a 2-3-1 mark from seven starts this year. Most recently second as the even money favorite in the Unzip Me Stakes, run at 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course here on Sept. 29, she has a win (the China Doll Stakes, March 10) and one third place finish at a mile on turf. Well suited to the Santa Anita lawn, she’s 5-2-3-0 locally. Reunited with Rafael Bejarano, who guided her to a fourth place finish two starts back in the Grade I Del Mar Oaks, look for her to show plenty of early zip on Saturday in what will be her 12th career start.

WEST PALM BEACH
Owner: Michael B. Tabor
Trainer: Simon Callaghan
A two-time winner from four starts in England, this Irish-bred filly by Scat Daddy was an impressive 1 ¼ length winner of her U.S. debut going a mile on turf here three starts back on March 16, a race in which she demonstrated an impressive turn of foot from off the pace. Idle since well beaten going a mile on turf in the Grade II San Clemente Stakes July 21, she was a dull fifth as the 3-5 favorite two starts back in the one mile turf, Grade III Senorita Stakes here on May 5. With plenty of pace signed on Saturday, she’ll hope to be a late threat when ridden for the first time by Brice Blanc.

STREAK OF LUCK
Owner: Roncelli Family Trust
Trainer: Matt Chew
An impressive 1 ½ length one mile turf allowance winner in open company here on Sept. 28, this Roncelli Family homebred, the lone California-bred in the field, will be bidding for her third consecutive win with Mike Smith on Saturday. Blessed with plenty of tactical speed, this filly by Old Fashioned has three wins and two seconds from seven tries at a mile on turf and will hope to have the class that would enable her to maintain her “roll” in the Autumn Miss.

THE GRADE III AUTUMN MISS STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 10 of 11 – Approximate post time 4:30 p.m. PT

1. Pulpit Rider—Tyler Conner–122
2. So Hi Society—Tiago Pereira—120
3. Streetwithnoname—Joe Talamo—122
4. Ms Bad Behavior—Rafael Bejarano—122
5. Toinette—Flavien Prat—124
6. Tesora—Drayden Van Dyke—122
7. K P Pergoliscious—Tyler Baze—120
8. West Palm Beach—Brice Blanc–120
9. Streak of Luck—Mike Smith—120
10. Movie Moment—Geovanni Franco—120
11. Rayya—Evin Roman—120
12. Spring Lily—Mario Gutierrez—120
13. Flametta—Gary Stevens—120
14. Hey Negrita—Angel Cruz–120
With an 11-race card on tap, there will be a special early first post time on Saturday of 12 noon. Admission gates will open at 10 a.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.