The La Canada Stakes (G3), the second of the three-race La Canada Series for older fillies and mares at Santa Anita Park, has drawn a field of six for Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile race.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who already leads all trainers in the event with five winners, dominates with three runners, making his barn the one to beat in this spot.
Pegram, Watson and Weitman’s lightly raced Uncle Mo filly Brilliantly is the early 7-5 morning-line favorite exiting a fourth-place finish in the La Brea Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita three weeks ago.
Although her performance in the La Brea was unremarkable – she was beaten more than eight lengths by stablemate Usha -- Brilliantly’s tactical speed should be beneficial as she stretches out from 7 furlongs. Also in her favor is jockey Juan Hernandez, who was aboard Baffert’s winner Cavallieri a year ago, and with the veteran conditioner’s dirt prowess at Santa Anita, this $500,000 yearling is the horse to beat.
The favorite’s stablemate Nafisa enters off a front-running allowance win at a mile on Jan. 12. It was her second straight win, having broken her maiden at 12th asking in her final start of 2025. This $1.8 million daughter of Quality Road, 5-1 on the morning line, could be stepping into graded stakes company at the right time under Baffert’s guidance and with Kazushi Kimura in the irons. With a hot pace, she could find herself sitting close and ready to pounce.
Trainer Doug O’Neill, who saddled Mopotism to win this race in 2018, sends out So There She Was, a listed stakes-winning daughter of Munnings with a big bank account. The Remington Park Oaks winner brings proven class to the table, and her figures indicate she’s spotted correctly. She’s a logical threat to crack the trifecta or better under Jockey Emisael Jaramillo, especially if she gets a clean trip and the pace melts down. Use underneath in multis.
The third Baffert runner, Ooty, brings international credentials, having won the Jorge de Atucha (G1) in Argentina before shipping north. Though she has yet to win a race on American soil, she was a respectable third in the Las Flores Stakes (G3) last out at Santa Anita, proving she can compete here. With her 8-1 morning line, she offers value in exotics as part of the Baffert trio. Expect her to be forwardly placed from the rail, but she may need to overcome traffic and give a best career performance to hit the wire first under Tiago Pereira.
Fugitive Star, at odds of 12-1 under Hector Barrios, is making her first start for trainer Ian Kruljac. She comes in off an allowance win at Turf Paradise and while well-traveled, having started in Kentucky, Louisiana, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Minnesota in her eight-race career, she steps up significantly in class here. Though her recent form is good, facing this group — especially the Baffert girls — will be tough. She’s more of a longshot for exotics, but appears outclassed unless she makes unexpected improvement.
Mark Glatt trains Jane Austen, a $750,000 daughter of Tapit who is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Bayakoa Stakes (G3) at Del Mar. The gray filly has some graded experience but hasn’t been a major factor lately. This distance and surface suit her, but against this field she’s more of a fringe player. She could sneak into lower exotics under Abel Lezcano if the race falls apart but expect her to be up against it for the win.
The picks: 1 Brilliantly 2 Nafisa 3 So There She Was
1 Ooty (Tiago Pereira, Bob Baffert), 8-1
2 Fugitive Star (Hector Barrios, Ian Kruljac), 12-1
3 So There She Was (Emisael Jaramillo, Doug O’Neill), 9-5
4 Brilliantly (Juan Hernandez, Bob Baffert), 7-5
5 Nafisa (Kazushi Kimura, Bob Baffert), 5-1
6 Jane Austen (Abel Lezcano, Mark Glatt), 6-1
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.
