betonline banner
betonline banner

News and STORIES

Spiced Perfection Set for La Canada

Author: Clint Goodman
Published: Friday January 10, 2020
On Dec. 7 at Aqueduct Racetrack, Spiced Perfection ran fast in a mile to take the Go for Wand Handicap (G3). Now, she will be tested once again when she goes up against grade 3 winners Queen Bee to You and Horologist in the 1 1/16-mile La Canada Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park on Saturday. 

Spiced Perfection was a sprinter for most of her career, and she has performed best in one-turn races. That held true in the Go for Wand as well, where she ran from the Aqueduct backstretch chute. 

The $200,000 La Canada will be longer, and it is around two turns. 

"We want to see how she will do going two turns," said trainer Peter Miller. "It could open up a whole new realm for her if it works, and if not, we can always go back to one-turn races."

The 5-year-old daughter of Smiling Tiger is out of Pleasantly Perfect mare Perfect Feat, and she has some experience in two-turn races.
She tried twice in her career, but neither was a victory. She finished second in both the one-mile Soviet Problem Stakes and 1 1/16-mile Melair Stakes against state-bred rivals. After that, she went back to sprints. 

Spiced Perfection's Career

Bred in California by Premier Thoroughbred, Spiced Perfection took the La Brea Stakes (G1) to finish out her 3-year-old season in 2018. After a private sale, she took three of six starts last year at the age of 4 for owners Pantofel Stable, Wachtel Stable and Peter Deutsch.

Spiced Perfection went on to score Keeneland's seven-furlong Madison Stakes (G1) and the six-furlong Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2), as well as the Go for Wand. 

Bidding halted at $1.35 million in the Elite Sales consignment at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock a few months back. That came after a fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), and she then went back into training with Miller. 

Joel Rosario will be the jockey for Spiced Perfection, who is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. She is expected to face early pressure in the La Canada, which was not the case in the Go for Wand. In that race, she was able to go the first half-mile in :49.09.

Queen Bee to You and Horologist

Queen Bee to You is the second richest of the eight older fillies and mares entered, with earnings at $538,770. Spiced Perfection's bankroll is at $1,214,405. Queen Bee to You made $293,703 in 2019 after winning four of 11 races. Those included three stakes victories from six starts for Andrew Lerner, who became the trainer after Mike Pender last summer. 

"One thing we've been working on in the morning is just to kind of get her to relax, getting her to track a little bit," Lerner said. "If she can be a little bit more tactical, that's going to help her. She's always kind of been one way, just kind of headstrong. So in the morning, we've been putting horses in front of her, trying to get her to relax a little bit."

When she was at Del Mar, she won after tracking the leaders in the Betty Grable Stakes. In the Bayakoa Stakes (G3) at Los Alamitos Race Course, she scored a victory from eight lengths behind a fast pace. 

Ruben Fuentes will be the jockey for the 3-1 morning-line second choice. 

The only other stakes winner in the field is Horologist, who took the Monmouth Oaks (G3) last summer. She then took third in the Cotillion Stakes (G1) and ninth in the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2).