Just as she did last month in the Bayakoa S. (G2), Vale Dori (ARG) lived up to her favoritism in Saturday's $200,000 La Canada S. (G2), coming home a 2 1/2-length winner in the 1 1/16-mile contest.
Sent to Bob Baffert by owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa following a fourth in last year's UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai, Vale Dori made six starts for her new trainer since August, winning four times.
In Saturday's La Canada, Vale Dori controlled the pace from the start. Wild at Heart tracked Vale Dori through six furlongs in 1:12.43, then was never seriously threatened as she was under a hand ride from Mike Smith in the final furlong.
“I’m impressed by her because she took on some really nice fillies,” said Baffert. “Wild At Heart is a good mare. She took her on early and didn’t give it to her. When Mike made that move at the three-eighths pole. I saw him make that adios move and was hoping he didn’t move her too early. She had something left at the end.
“Well, eventually she’ll have to run against that caliber of horse (regarding Songbird) but I think she’s improved since she ran against her and we’ll just continue moving forward. If not, we can always put her on a plane and go somewhere else. We have a lot of options with her.”
Vale Dori banked $120,000 for the win and upped her lifetime total to $574,943 with a record of 6-3-1 in 11 starts.