BY SANTA ANITA PRESS OFFICE
ARCADIA, CA—Spirited Boss made it a successful raiding party for trainer Jose D’Angelo Saturday when rallying from last to win the Grade 3, $100,500 Monrovia Stakes presented by Ketel One at Santa Anita Park. Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, Florida-bred Spirited Boss bested five other fillies and mares going about six-and-a-half furlongs on the hillside turf course for her second career stakes victory, first against graded company.
Spirited Boss ran past pacesetter Amorita inside the final furlong to win by three-quarters of a length. Florida-bred Queen Maxima, the 4-5 favorite, finished another length-and-a-quarter back in third. Princesa Moche (Per), Tirupati and Sareeha (Ire) completed the order of finish. Love Appeals was scratched.
“I talked to Mr. D’Angelo this morning and he was telling me how good this filly was doing,” Smith said. “He told me ‘You are absolutely going to love her. She is a sweetheart.’ She just ran dynamite and all his team is from Venezuela. I was happy to win for him.”
A 4-year-old filly by Street Boss, Spirited Boss is a homebred for TAG Stables. Her only previous stakes victory came last year in March in the $158,000 Sanibel Island (Listed) at Gulfstream Park going seven-and-a-half furlongs on turf. She was then second in the $80,000 Honey Ryder at a mile on the turf at Gulfstream in May and third in the $175,000 Soaring Softly (Listed) going five-and-a-half furlongs after being take off the turf at Saratoga Race Course on June 8.
She was given seven months off and returned to win a second level, $32,000 optional claiming going a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the grass at Tampa Bay Downs on December 20. In two starts this year at Gulfstream, she was fifth in the $75,000 Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf on January 10 and fourth in the third condition, $75,000 optional claiming over a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the grass on February 6.
“This horse has been magnificent,” D’Angelo assistant Leonardo Paladala said. “[Santa Anita-based trainer] Peter Eurton suggested to Jose to bring this horse to Santa Anita for this stakes race. He was right. Mike Smith did the rest.”
Spirited Boss won in a time of 1:12 flat following quarter-mile fractions of :21.94, :44.45 and 1:06.21. Spirited Boss paid $38.00.
As for Queen Maxima, who won last year’s Monrovia, jockey Juan Hernandez noted she didn’t seem her usual self on Saturday.
“She was really hot in the post today. I felt it,” Hernandez said. “Normally, she’s really calm and professional. I don’t know why, but today she didn’t want to stand and she broke slow. She traveled well, but normally when I ask her to step it up, she takes off, but not today.”
Spirited Boss has now won half of her 10 career starts with a second and a two thirds. She earned $60,000 to push her career earnings to $301,750. She also earned $5,000 in Export Incentives for breeder TAG Stables as a Grade 3 winner outside of Florida.
Spirited Boss is out of unraced Stormy Atlantic mare Spirited Storm, the dam of six starters, all winners from eight foals. Spirited Boss is a half-sister to stakes-placed Florida-breds Uncaptured Spirit and Uncaptured Storm, both by Uncaptured.
Spirited Storm, a half-sister to stakes-placed Bambazonki, has an unnamed yearling colt by Frosted and an unnamed weanling colt by More Than Looks, both bred in Florida by TAG Stables. TAG Stables purchased Spirited Storm as a 2-year-old in training out of the 2014 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale where she was consigned by All Dreams Equine.
— Brock Sheridan contributed to this story
