Last Updated on January 11, 2023 by CCAR Staff
ARCADIA >> Lost Bus won the $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes for older fillies and mares by a head over Finest City, and then survived a foul claim on Saturday at Santa Anita Park.
Ridden by Fernando Perez, Lost Bus ran seven furlongs in 1:21.78 and paid $131.20, $42.20 and $14.80 at 60-1 odds, making the 4-year-old filly the longest shot in the field.
Finest City returned $10.60 and $6.80. Tara’s Tango was another neck back in third and paid $4.60 to show.
Corey Nakatani, aboard Finest City, lodged a claim of foul against Lost Bus and Perez, but the stewards made no changes to the order of finish.
“Corey was pushing me,” Perez said. “We were bumping a little bit down the stretch, but not much to be honest. He just had to take a shot (by claiming foul) to see if he could get the disqualification.”
The victory, worth $120,000, increased Lost Bus’ career earnings to $256,018, with three wins in 11 starts. The filly earned her first career stakes win in the Grade 2 race. Lost Bus was claimed for $32,000 in November and is trained by Gary Sherlock.
Sent from her number four post position in a field of nine, Lost Bus, who was claimed three starts back for $32,000 on Nov. 19, was pressed throughout at the rail through splits of 22.42, 44.93 and 1:09.08.
“Lost Bus was pretty much going to run before I learned (probable favorite) Sunday Rules wouldn’t be entered, but I was running for third, and it turned out better than that,” said Sherlock, who won the Santa Monica in 2008 with Intangaroo. “There wasn’t a lot of speed in the race, and I told Fernando to go to the front.”
Lost Bus, who is by the In Excess stallion Bring the Heat, is owned by Terry Lovingier,.
“I got a clean break, I took her to the lead and she was comfortable the whole time,” Perez said. “At the end, she was still trying.”
Breaking from the far outside, Finest City, off at 8-1, broke sharply and pressed the winner gate to wire while just holding off the late charge of 3-1 favorite Tara’s Tango.
Tara’s Tango, who was ridden by Mike Smith, broke alertly but was taken in hand heading into the far turn, then angled out turning for home and just missed, finishing third, 2¼ lengths in front of Living The Life.
“I couldn’t keep her in a hard drive,” said Smith in reference to his decision to reserve his mount for the stretch run. “I thought I could let them go, give her a breather and then go at them again on the outside and it worked, but I just didn’t get there in time.”
• With a two-day Pick Six carryover contributing to a massive total pool of $1,852,098, there was just one winning ticket, worth $1,132,476.80. Purchased for an as-yet undisclosed amount, the ticket was generated through a Kentucky-based wagering hub.
