WITH A RETURN TO SANTA ANITA, SUGAR FISH REGAINS WINNING FORM IN THE GII, $200,000 ZENYATTA STAKES SUNDAY AT THE GREAT RACE PLACE

ARCADIA, CA (Sept. 29, 2024)—Back at her favorite track, Sugar Fish regained her winning form with a second graded-stakes victory in Sunday’s GII, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes.

Sugar Fish (5-2), a 3-year-old facing older horses, ran down pacesetter Alpha Bella (5-2) inside the sixteenth pole and pulled clear to score by 1 ½ lengths under Tyler Baze. Trained by Jeff Mullins, Sugar Fish improved to 4-for-6 at Santa Anita. In June at Santa Anita, Sugar Fish earned her first graded stakes win in the GII Summertime Oaks.

Alpha Bella and jockey Hector Berrios finished nine lengths clear of third-place finisher Desert Dawn (2-1). Nothing Like You, the 9-5 favorite for trainer Bob Baffert, faded to fourth after pressing Alpha Bella into the second turn.

Following her 9 ¾ romp in the Summertime Oaks, Sugar Fish went to Del Mar and tried the GI Clement L. Hirsch. She failed to make an impact when finishing sixth in her first attempt against older horses.

“She’s back home. She’s so comfortable here and has trained so good the last week,” Baze said. “I had a lot of confidence in her and I just rode her like that. I knew she would be there when I asked.”

A 3-year-old filly by Accelerate, Sugar is owned by Talla Racing and Sweetwater Stable. She is now 8: 4-1-0 with $310,040 in earnings.

Mullins was not at Santa Anita Sunday.

Sugar Fish paid $7.20, $3.20 and $2.40. Alpha Bella returned $4.40 and $2.80 and Desert Dawn paid $2.40 to show.

Co-owner Kim Lloyd of Sweetwater Stable said he hopes this latest win can lead to a start in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar Nov. 2.

“I would love to run in a Breeders’ Cup, Del Mar is my favorite track,” Lloyd said. “But the horse has to make that decision.”