Las Vegas, NV - The Grade 2 La Canada Stakes is on tap for Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California this Sunday, January 20. A group of four year old fillies will line up and go 1 1/16 miles on Santa Anita's main dirt track as they race for their share of the $150,000 purse.
The La Canada Stakes haw drawn a small but competitive group of six females for race 7 on Santa Anita's Sunday card. Post time is 3:36 PM. Let's take a glance into the past performances of all six combatants as they prepare for this Grade 2 race.
Book Review - Bob Baffert trained filly in coming off a very impressive win in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes over Reneesgotzip and the dominant My Miss Aurelia here on December 26 after a disappointing fifth two back in the Grade 1 Gazelle. She entered Gazelle on a nice streak of three wins in her last four starts - the minor Imperial Gesture Stakes at Belmont Park October 24, the Charles Town Oaks four back and an Allowance at Saratoga in July. Her other graded stakes action came five back - a seventh in the competitive Grade 1 Test Stakes but based on recent results minus the Gazelle, Book Review has to be in the conversation for the La Canada.
Lady of Fifty - Jerry Hollendorfer filly has six wins and three third place finishes in 11 career starts and is coming off a win last time out in the competitive Grade 2 Bayakoa at Hollywood Park December 8 to follow a win in the minor Palm Springs Handicap at Santa Anita November 1. She hadn't run a graded stakes race since February before the impressive Bayakoa result - a sixth in the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate. With two nice wins in her last two starts, Lady of Fifty enters in the best form of her career.
Open Water - finished a decent third in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes March 3 but followed it up with a disappointing seventh in the Grade 2 Hollywood Oaks. After that was an impressive second in her turf debut in the Grade 2 San Clemente at Del Mar on July 22 and a game third in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks on August 18. Open Water had a fifth in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss to follow another fifth in the Grade 1 Garden City Stakes at Belmont September 15 before bouncing back with a very good second last time out in the Grade 2 Bayakoa behind Lady of Fifty at Hollywood Park December 8.
Willa B. Awesome - Willa B. Awesome has five wins (four stakes races), three seconds and four third place finishes in 18 career starts. She had two straight wins in the spring - the Melair Stakes on this track and before that an impressive score in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks over Reneesgotzip on March 31. Since those wins she has struggled a tad - a sixth in the Grade 2 Hollywood Oaks, a third in the minor Fleet Treat Stakes, a ninth in the John Deere California Cup Distaff, a third in the minor Cat's Cradle Handicap at Hollywood Park November 18 and a sixth last time out in the Grade 2 Bayakoa December 8.
More Chocolate - made her stakes debut and finished a very pleasant third in the Grade 3 Robert J. Frankel Stakes on this track December 30 after six career starts produced two wins and a second place finish for trainer John Sadler.
Ubelongtomemissy - John Sadler trained entry - she will be making her stakes debut after seven career starts at Calder yielded a win, two seconds and a third place finish.
