Photo Courtesy of Benoit
Kindle claimed an early lead in the Monrovia Stakes at Santa Anita on January 6th in a day marked by blustery showers. Kindle, who produced a 100 Beyer Number in her last outing in winning the Cool Air Stakes was the lone speed in the race. She shot out of the gate to take her lead, relaxed on the lead producing a 21.7 first quarter, a second slower than her last time on the downhill turf course at Santa Anita when she went 20.7. Maintaining the lead with a 43.5 half mile, Kindle kicked into another gear and kicked away from the field heading into the stretch. She looked clear but in an amazing finish, Mizdirection, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint Turf Champion, caught her in the last 4 hops and beat Kindle by a nose. Kindle beat the rest of the field of classy fillies by about 3 lengths. Mike Puype, trainer of Mizdirection said, the only jockey that could have produced this win today was Hall of Famer Mike Smith.
According to Mizdirection’s connections, there next move will be to stretch her out to two turns in 6 weeks at Santa Anita. Kindle earned a 97 Beyer in this race compared to the winners 98 and Kindle also produced a 98 in the Sam Maddy Grade 3 late last year. She is very sharp, improving each race. She came out of the race in good form giving her connections lot’s of options for her next race. She has demonstrated her versatility winning on two different synthetic tracks, dirt and turf. If Mizdirection is the best turf sprinter in the world (Breeders’ Cup), then Kindle is certainly one of the top two or three. Here are some links to coverage of the race:
Videos
Kindle’s Day at The Monrovia Stakes at Santa Anita
Monrovia Stakes Race Video
Kindle Coverage in Monrovia Stakes
Extended Coverage of Monrovia Stakes and Kindle
Articles
Paulick Report Mizdirection Nips Kindle
Associated Press Mizdirection Beats Kindle by a Nose
Bloodhorse Mizdirection beats Kindle in Monrovia
Source:
http://silvertrainsire.com/kindle-shows-class-in-monrovia-stakes-grade-2-at-santa-anita/