Over the past 10 years, just three fillies have won both the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and the Chandelier Stakes (G1) — Songbird, Executiveprivilege and Stardom Bound. In this year’s edition of Santa Anita’s marquee race for two-year-old fillies, Moonshine Memories will try to add her name to that list.
Run at 1 1/16 miles, the Chandelier is a “Win and You’re In” event for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Moonshine Memories, a daughter of Malibu Moon, is trained by Simon Callaghan and owned by Bridlewood Farm, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor. She was purchased for $650,000 at the Saratoga Sale last year. Always showing plenty of promise, she debuted on Aug. 19 and dueled the whole way around to win the 6-furlong race by a length in a final time of 1:10 flat. She returned just 14 days later in the Del Mar Debutante and once again dueled throughout the race, this time winning by just half a length — but the time for the seven furlongs was an impressive 1:23-2/5.
Owned by Nice Guys Stables, Jack Bick and Jay Orninger, the Doug O’Neill trained Piedi Bianchi enters the Chandelier off of a runner-up finish in the Debutante behind Moonshine Memories. The daughter of leading freshman sire Overanalyze made her first two starts going five furlongs, finishing second in her debut and then coming back to break her maiden by 1¼ lengths on Aug. 12. The filly was one of just a few to sit off the pace in the Debutante and her closing kick down the stretch suggests she will only get better with added ground.
Terra’s Angel will be switching back to dirt for owners Johnny Evans and Terry Eoff and trainer Dallas Keen. The daughter of Drosselmeyer broker her maiden by three lengths at first asking on May 13 at Lone Star Park, covering the 4½ furlong distance in :52- 4/5. She was then shipped out to California where she finished a distant third in the Sorrento Stakes (G2) and captured her first stakes win when switching surfaces in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies’ Turf.
Bob Baffert always has a strong hand in the juvenile ranks and this year is no different, as he sends out the formidable pair of Just a Smidge and Alluring Star in the Chandelier.
Just a Smidge, a daughter of Into Mischief, was a $425,000 purchase at the Mid Atlantic Sale in May and is owned by Debbie Lanni. After winning her debut impressively and putting in monster works coming into the race, the filly went off as the 2-1 favorite in the Debutante. For reasons that even her Hall-of-Fame trainer can’t explain, Just a Smidge finished a distant fifth in the race.
Alluring Star was an $850,000 purchase at the OBS March Sale by her owners Baoma Corporation and, so far, she has lived up to her purchase price. Taking a little more time to develop than her stable mate, the daughter of Exchange Rate didn’t debut until Sept. 3, but it was worth the wait, as she won easily by 2 ¼ lengths.
Turf maiden winner Holy Diver and the maidens Dancing Belle and Super Good round out the field.
Carded as the seventh race on the Santa Anita program, approximate post time for the $300,000 Chandelier Stakes is 3:32 pm PT.
16-year-old Jordan Sigmon is from Charlotte, North Carolina. She was bit by the racing bug when watching Big Brown demolish the field in the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Jordan spends most of her time with her own horse Patrick, a 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding that she shows at hunter/jumper shows across the East Coast. When she isn’t at the barn she’s handicapping races and writing articles on the goings-on of the sport. Jordan’s dream is to work in the racing industry after graduating college, exactly what she wants to do is still up in the air but one of her biggest passions is working with young horses.