Vale Dori rebounds in G1 Zenyatta S.
Vale Dori (ARG) broke a frustrating losing streak in a big way on Sunday, taking the $300,000 Zenyatta S. (G1). The win came at the expense of her stablemate Abel Tasman, who had taken a pair of Grade 1’s in her two most recent starts.
However, the spotlight on Sunday would shine on Vale Dori, who had a six-race winning streak over the 2016-17 winter and spring seasons. Though she had placed in four stakes since then, she had yet to win in the past 15 months.
Well away from the gate, Vale Dori and jockey Joe Talamo chased longshot Shenandoah Queen through a half-mile in :48.02. The two were on nearly even terms after six furlongs, but Vale Dori forged ahead soon after, then held off a late charge by La Force (GER) to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:44.88 for the 1 1/16-miles on the fast main track.
Vale Dori, 6, is owned by Sheikh Maohammed al Maktoum. Her earnings now stand at $1,365,567.
Vale Dori’s win was Baffert’s third in the race, but the first since Tough Tiz’s Sis won the race in 2007, when it was called the Lady’s Secret BC Handicap.