The $100,000 Las Flores Stakes (G3), a 6-furlong dirt sprint for fillies and mares, is set for Sunday at Santa Anita, with a compact field of five heading postward.
The sprint attracts speed-oriented distaffers looking to kick off the year strongly and often serves as a prep for bigger sprint stakes later in the season.
Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who owns the stakes record for number of winners with six, sends out a pair, and both help provide an intriguing matchup between proven sprinters and those stepping up in class.
The Las Flores has a rich history dating back to 1951, initially run as a handicap before becoming a stakes race in the 1980s and earning Grade 3 status in 1985. It has been contested at 6 and 6 ½ furlongs, primarily on dirt but on synthetic surfaces during Santa Anita's all-weather era.
Notable winners include champion sprinters Gamine (2021), who used the race as a successful comeback before further graded triumphs; Judy the Beauty (2014), a Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) winner; Behaving Badly (2006); Desert Stormer, the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner; Very Subtle, the 1987 BC Sprint heroine; Champion sprinters and Hall of Famers My Juliet (1977) and Affectionately (1964); and Terlingua (1979), the dam of legendary sire Storm Cat.
Other standouts are Richi (2025), a Chilean import who led a Baffert exacta; Chismosa (2024); and Edgeway (2022). The race has occasionally been divided into two divisions, as in 1963 and some years with dual runnings, highlighting its popularity among West Coast trainers.
Nafisa is a 5-year-old daughter of Quality Road purchased by Amr Zedan for $1.8 million in 2022 at Saratoga as a Fasig-Tipton select yearling. She is the more well-known of Baffert’s two, largely because of her big sales price, and enters off a sharp maiden-breaking win – her 13th career start -- by a nose at Del Mar in November at 6 ½ furlongs on dirt.
Though she has raced predominantly on turf with consistent placings in straight maidens, her dirt efforts show promise, including a third in a 1-mile maiden at Del Mar 13 months ago. Kazushi Kimura is back aboard, and she could benefit from her tactical turn of foot if the pace sets up hot in front.
And ... she’s the longest shot in the field at 8-1.
Magnificat (2-1), a 4-year-old Omaha Beach filly conditioned by Richard Mandella, brings intrigue after being scratched from the La Brea Stakes (G1) as a longshot on opening day a week ago.
Her form includes a strong maiden win at Santa Anita in October and a nice first-level allowance score at 6 ½ furlongs at Del Mar six weeks ago. With jockey Mirco Demuro back aboard and pedigree blending speed and stamina, she figures prominently.
Margarita Girl (5-2), trained by Mark Glatt for Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners and Saints or Sinners, is a 4-year-old by Twirling Candy who broke her maiden impressively at Del Mar in her sixth start over 6 furlongs on dirt in August, pulling away to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
Though she has just the one career win, she’s never finished off the board in six starts, including four runner-up finishes (and a near-miss as the favorite in deep maiden company at Churchill Downs in June at a mile). Ricardo Gonzalez picks up the mount, and her tactical speed could allow her to stalk the pace. As a lightly raced improver, she offers value if the favorites falter.
Thermal – the 3-2 favorite – is a 5-year-old Nyquist mare under John Sadler's care for Talla Racing LLC and Sadler Racing. She comes in hot after a dominant wire-to-wire allowance victory at Santa Anita 2 ½ months ago over 6 furlongs. She earned a career-high speed figure for the effort, and a repeat here makes her a dangerous favorite.
Primarily a turf sprinter earlier, with placings in stakes like the Zadracarta at Woodbine in September, her switch to dirt has unlocked new potential. She’s likely to show the way from the break and may be tough to run down.
Ooty (6-1), the other Baffert trainee, is a 5-year-old Argentine Dabster mare owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, entering after a sixth-place finish in the 1-mile Tranquility Lake Stakes at Del Mar in September. Though a Grade 1 winner south of the equator before being imported sometime before a 2025 campaign, her form has been inconsistent. She has shown sprint ability in prior tries, and the cutback to 6 furlongs could suit her closing style.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
