Santa Anita Meet Commences With Maddy Stakes

Five-year-old Unzip Me is the one to be in the turf sprint Sept. 30.

Unzip Me, a four-time stakes winner on Santa Anita’s downhill turf course, will play the role of favorite in the $100,000 Senator Ken Maddy Stakes (gr. IIIT) Sept. 30 on opening day of the autumn meet.

Unzip Me will face five opponents in Friday’s opening-day feature for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs. The 5-year-old mare, co-owned and bred by Harris Farms, has finished in the money in her last 15 starts, winning 10 of them.

Unzip Me won the Maddy a year ago when it was run at six furlongs on Hollywood Park’s turf course. Her favorite layout, however, is Santa Anita’s downhill course, on which the chestnut mare has captured five of seven stakes.

Rafael Bejarano rides the California-bred daughter of City Zip who is trained by Marty Jones. Unzip Me enters the Maddy with earnings of $812,228 from a 12-4-3 record in 21 career starts.

Tanda may be Unzip Me’s main rival. The 4-year-old Sweetsouthernsaint filly has won a trio of grade III stakes including Del Mar’s Rancho Bernardo Handicap in her last start on Aug. 11. That race, at 6 1/2 furlongs on Del Mar’s Polytrack, was her first in the care of trainer Mike Mitchell.

Joe Talamo has the return riding call aboard the Florida-bred filly owned by Tommy Hutton’s Dream Stable. Tanda has won two of four starts on turf while compiling a 5-1-3 record in 12 starts for earnings of $346,626.

After twice running second to Unzip Me, Broken Dreams upset the 3-5 favorite in an allowance race July 14 at six furlongs at Hollywood Park. She ran down Unzip Me to score by 1 1/4 lengths at odds of 5-2.

Broken Dreams closed well to finish fourth, 1 1/4 lengths behind Unzip Me in the last start for both, the Daisycutter Handicap at Del Mar Aug. 12. Garrett Gomez rides Glen Hill Farm’s homebred Broken Dreams.

The 5-year-old mare, trained by Tom Proctor, has finished second in two career starts on grass. Included was Santa Anita’s Clocker’s Corner Handicap last March when she finished a half-length behind Unzip Me.

French-bred Givine was third in the Daisycutter, one length behind Unzip Me. Joel Rosario will be aboard the gray filly trained by Julio Canani for Marsha Naify.

Including eight races in France, Givine has posted a 6-1-3 mark in 13 career outings. All of her victories were on grass.

Also in the field is Waveline, a 6-year-old mare trained by Ben Cecil for owner-breeder J. Paul Reddam. In last year’s Maddy, the Stravinsky mare ran second to Unzip Me, 1 1/2 lengths back at 13-1. She wound up fifth behind Unzip Me in the Daisycutter.

The Maddy is carded as the third race on a nine-race program. Post time is scheduled for 2:02. p.m. PDT.

The 24-day Santa Anita meet that runs through Nov. 6 includes 13 graded stakes and the Oct. 29 California Cup.

$100,000 Sen. Ken Maddy (gr. IIIT, Race 3, 2:02 p.m.), Fillies & Mares 3 & Up, 6 1/2 Furlongs (Turf)
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Waveline (CA), V Espinoza, 118, B D Cecil
2. Unzip Me (CA), R Bejarano, 120, M F Jones
3. Broken Dreams (FL), G K Gomez, 118, T F Proctor
4. Tanda (FL), J Talamo, 123, M R Mitchell
5. Separate Forest (KY), P A Valenzuela, 123, D F O'Neill
6. Givine (FR), J Rosario, 118, J C Canani