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River's Prayer wires Las Cienegas RIVER'S PRAYER (Devon Lane) took command early and never relinquished her advantage en route to a half-length victory in the $108,700 Las Cienegas H. (G3) at Santa Anita on Sunday. With Clinton Potts in the irons, the four-year-old gray reeled off splits of :21 4/5, :44 1/5 and 1:06 3/5, completing the about 6 1/2-furlong test on the firm turf in 1:12 4/5. Now perfect from three starts on the unique downhill course, the Paula Capestro filly returned $5.80, $3.20 and $2.60 as the 9-5 second choice. "She's just a running machine," said Capestro, who co-owns the filly along with Bantry Farms and Martin Racing Stable. Indian Flare (Cherokee Run), the 6-5 favorite, tracked the pace along the inside, then altered course to the outside for a clear path in the stretch. Although she steadily reduced the winner's margin late, she could not peg back River's Prayer. The runner-up gave back $2.60 and $2.20. Potts described his strategy to make life problematic for David Flores aboard Indian Flare. "Coming to the dirt, I knew David was behind me to my inside, and at that point, I'm going to do my job and that is try to keep him in tight as much as I can without fouling him," the winning rider said. Strong Faith (Pioneering) rallied boldly and just missed second by a head, paying $3.20 at 11-1. The $1 exotics totaled $6.50 (exacta) and $30.80 (1-3-5 trifecta). It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to No Lullaby (Brahms) in fourth, followed by Dancing Squall (River Squall), Wild Storm (Chi) (Hussonet) and Red Diadem (GB) (Pivotal). By adding a fifth career stakes victory to her resume, and her first at the graded level, River's Prayer now sports a mark of 13-6-1-2 with $457,253 in earnings. Her first stakes scores came on the dirt, in the Cinderella S. as a juvenile in 2005 and the Fleet Treat S. last year. On the turf, she claimed the California Cup Distaff H. in October and most recently the Irish O'Brien S., appropriately enough on St. Patrick's Day. River's Prayer has also placed in three stakes, most notably the 2005 Del Mar Debutante S. (G1). The winner was bred by Vessels Stallion Farm in California and sold for $15,000 as a yearling at the 2004 Barretts October sale. Going through the ring at Barretts again the following March, she RNA'd for $180,000. River's Prayer was produced by the winning Cozzene mare Cozzy Flyer, who is herself a half-sister to multiple stakes victor and Grade 3-placed Never Round (Never Tabled). Her youngest offspring is a juvenile colt named Packed House (Free House). Capestro said that she is exploring all of the options for River's Prayer. "I think she really likes the turf," she said. "I know she can also win on the dirt, and I haven't really made up my mind exactly which direction we're going to go with her. We'll look at various races across the country, as well as at home, but I love staying home, too. Everyone here at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park have been very good to us. We like supporting the local tracks."
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