Stellar Wind holds on for Summertime Oaks victory

Stellar Wind and Tara’s Tango battled side-by-side down the Santa Anita stretch on Saturday, June 20, neither filly wanting to give in to the other and both wanting the win in the $200,250 Summertime Oaks (G2).

In the end, it was Stellar Wind’s day, as she just barely got her nose in front of Tara’s Tango to score the win under jockey, Victor Espinoza, who has been riding high following his Triple Crown win with American Pharoah just two weeks ago.

Stellar Wind, with jockey Victor Espinoza riding, held off Tara’s Tango to win the Summertime Oaks by a nose on Saturday, June 20, 2015, at Santa Anita. (Photo by BenoitPhoto.com)

“I have to give Mike (Smith, aboard Tara’s Tango) a lot of credit because Tara’s Tango was really fighting and he was riding her so hard,” said Espinoza. “But Stellar Wind got the job done and she felt great. I know it’s a little bit hot, but she seemed to come back really well after the wire (finish line).”

Stellar Wind, who is by Curlin-Evening Star, by Malibu Moon, ran the 1-1/16th-mile dirt race for 3-year-old fillies in 1:42.53.

In the race, Stellar Wind broke from the outside gate and stayed four wide into the first turn, following closely behind race leaders Conquest Curlgirl and Tara’s Tango, who got squeezed at the start, moved up on the outside and ran in second.

Heading down the backstretch, Stellar Wind moved between horses, then went three-wide heading into the final turn. Tara’s Tango also moved between horses going into the final turn as well.

As they exited the turn, Espinoza urged Stellar Wind forward, and the filly took a short lead at the top of the stretch, with Tara’s Tango close behind.

As the two came down the stretch, they battled side-by-side, with Espinoza and Smith urging their filly’s towards the finish line.

At the wire, Stellar Wind prevailed, as she just got her nose in front to get the win in the hard-fought battle over Tara’s Tango.

“Whether the pace was going to be slow or fast…everything changed out of the gate and I was ready for it,” said Espinoza. “I bounced out of there and I was going to figure it out when we hit the first turn. I wanted to see how fast we were going. They slowed it down pretty good, so I kept her closer. That was the best thing because with that pace I couldn’t leave her too much to do.”

Finishing third, 3-1/4-lengths behind the second place finisher was Conquest Curlgirl, with Sheer Pleasure fourth, Scat Means Go fifth and Roksana sixth.

Interestingly, Curlin is turning into a very good stallion for Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, as he is also the sire of third-place finisher Conquest Curlgirl (Curlin-Montera, by Easy Goer).

Winning trainer John Sadler was also happy with the way his filly ran in the race, despite giving away five pounds to the field – Stellar Wind carried 123 pounds, while the other five horse carried 118 pounds each.

“She ran very well and had to give away the weight; she gave away five pounds today,” said Sadler. “With the pace slow she had a long, extended, wide run.” The second filly, Tara’s Tango is a very nice filly. It felt like a Stonestreet exacta with Curlin (Stellar Wind’s sire) being so close to Stonestreet’s Mrs. Banke and the late Jess Jackson who also owned the horse that finished second (Tara’s Tango).”

While his filly, Tara’s Tango, finished second, Smith was pleased with his filly’s performance.

“I’ve been waiting for this, to run long,” said Smith about his filly’s first race around two turns. “In saying that though, I didn’t want to have to make such a long run. But, it was a good tactical move on Victor’s part because I don’t think he wins if he didn’t move on me that early.

“He (Espinoza) had a horse that was more seasoned, who’s been around two turns several times and it was Tara’s Tango’s first time around two turns. All that happened was that she got a little tired at the end. If that doesn’t happen, I think I get it.”

With the win, Stellar Wind, who is owned by Hronis Racing and Stonestreet Stables, now has four wins – three of them graded stakes – one third and $493,200 in earnings in six career starts.

The win also keeps Stellar Wind undefeated at Santa Anita, as she also won the Santa Anita Oaks (G1) on April 4, 2015, and Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) on Feb. 28, 2015, at the track as well.

As to possible future plans for Stellar Wind, Sadler said, “I don’t really have anything planned yet. I’ll take her down to Del Mar and then we’ll decide if we want to take her out of town or if we want to run her on the grass. We have two choices with her down there. We’ll see how it goes.”

(Info courtesy of EquiBase.com, BloodHorse.com, SantaAnita.com, HorseRacingNation.com and Brisnet.com)