Ron Correll
Senior columnist
Tracksideview.com

ARCADIA, Calif., — Believe it, Stardom Bound really is that good. The daughter of Tapit toyed with a nice field of 2-year-olds in the Juvenile Fillies on Saturday at Santa Anita Park to live up to her name.

Stardom Bound settled second last in a field of 13 as Be Smart and C.S. Silk vied for the lead going into the first turn. C.S. Silk had the advantage as they straightened up the backstretch with the first quarter going in :22.77 seconds. Be Smart was keeping up the pressure with Palacio De Amor sitting in third at the half-mile mark in :45.92 seconds.

C. S. Silk still was in command at the three-eighths pole in 1:09.85, but jockey Mike Smith moved a still distance Stardom Bound off the rail and let her loose. Stardom Bound took off and had circled the field by the quarter-pole and didn’t look like she was going to stop.

Smith gave Stardom Bound a few taps and the filly stretched her advantage to three lengths before Smith went back to a hand ride at the sixteenth-pole. Stardom Bound crossed the wire almost two lengths in front of Dream Express with Sky Diva getting third. Dave’s Revenge, at 60-1, rounded out the superfecta.

The final time for the mile-and-a-sixteenth race was 1:40.99.

Smith said he had a little trouble early. “Even though I got pinched at the start, she got away in pretty good order. She was on the right lead. Believe it or not, I was very confident down the backstretch. Every time I moved my finger, she was right there. It was a matter of pulling the trigger. It was a little soon on my part, but I planned only for the fact that the inside horses were making their moves and were going to wheel out. If they wheeled out, they’d have taken me three or four wide, so I needed to make the move when I did, and I got the jump on them. I knew she was capable today. It was a phenomenal performance.”

Trainer Christopher Paasch was amazed by his filly’s move. “Her late run is devastating. She tears their hearts out. In three straight Grade 1 races now, she come from 15 lengths out of it and won exactly like she did today. I would think that clinches the 2-year-old championship but I’m not going to Disneyland, I’m coming back to the Breeders’ Cup next year.”

Kent Desormeaux, who was on Dream Express, thought he was gaining ground on Stardom Bound. “The winner got away from me around the turn. I was catching back up to her down the lane. I can conclude from this race that our filly is a serious horse. Kenny (trainer McPeek) told me to enjoy the ride, and I did.”

 McPeek said the way Dream Express performed opened the door for next year. “She ran a great race. It’s tough to run so well and not win, but we have a lot of options for her next year. We’re all very proud of her. Kent rode her well and she had a good trip. Another eighth of a mile and she might have gotten there.”

Jockey Ramon Dominguez would like to see Sky Diva on dirt. “I was pleased with the way she ran. The pace was fast, but that is the way it is going to be all day. If I had to guess, I think she may be a little better on the dirt. She responded for me when I asked her at the head of the lane, but the winner was just too much.”

Trainer Steve Klesaris agreed with Dominguez. “I think she’s going to like the dirt better.  She ran well, but she gets better acceleration on dirt.  It would have been a great race to win, but third in the Breeders’ Cup in the third start of her life is pretty good.”