She will face only three rivals in the Santa Monica Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park this Saturday, on a dirt track
ARCADIA, California (Special para Turf Diario).- After her stunning victory in the La Brea Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies on opening day at Santa Anita, Kopion will return to the track this Saturday to face a trio of Bob Baffert-trained contenders in the Santa Monica Stakes (G2), a 1400-meter race for fillies and mares aged 4 and up, with a purse of $200,000.
In the La Brea, Kopion stalked the pace before powering away in the stretch to win by 2 3/4 lengths. Among her beaten rivals was Splendora (Audible), who finished second that day and will also compete in the Santa Monica. Trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, Kopion had already shown her talent last January by winning the Santa Ynez (G3), also over 1400 meters at Santa Anita.
A daughter of Omaha Beach, Kopion has a record of 5 starts, with 3 wins, 1 second-place finish, and earnings of $314,600 for her owner, Spendthrift Farm. She will be ridden for the first time by Antonio Fresu.
Baffert, on the other hand, will present three contenders: among them, the Chilean-bred Richi (Practical Joke), winner of the Las Flores Stakes (G3) on January 4; the aforementioned Splendora; and Hope Road (Quality Road), who finished fourth in the La Brea.
Richi, a Group 1 winner in her native Chile, recently won the 1200-meter Las Flores Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths after a seven-month break, marking her second start in the United States. In her debut here last June, she finished second in the Desert Stormer Stakes (L), also over 1200 meters. Representing Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Stud Vendaval Inc., Richi has a record of 11 starts, 7 wins, and earnings of $178,424. She will be ridden by Héctor Berríos for the first time.
Meanwhile, Splendora, who finished second in the La Brea at an unexpected 25-1 odds, had previously broken her maiden in October at Santa Anita and won an allowance at Del Mar in November, both over 1300 meters. With a record of 4: 2-2-0 and $138,400 in earnings for her owner By Talla Racing LLC, she will once again be ridden by Frankie Dettori, who also piloted her in her debut in December 2023, when she finished second.
Finally, Hope Road, a disappointing fourth in the La Brea as the 5-2 favorite, has wins in the Bayakoa Stakes (G3) in November and the Torrey Pines Stakes (G3) in August, both over a mile at Del Mar. Bred and owned by Cicero Farms, the daughter of Quality Road has a record of 8: 4-2-0 with $336,020 in earnings. She will be ridden by her regular jockey, Juan Hernández, as she aims to return to the form that made her a prominent figure last year.
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