Look Forward outkicks Artisma in Santa Ynez

A well-timed rally carried 17-10 favorite Look Forward to a tenacious victory in Sunday’s $101,500 Santa Ynez S. at Santa Anita.

A talented group of eight sophomore fillies faced the starter in the seven-furlong Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifier, all vying for the 10-5-3-2-1 qualification points available to the top five finishers. The field included stakes winners Silent Law and Practical Dream, stakes-placed Mawu, and debut winners Polythene Pam, Howin, A. Z. Wildcat, and Artisma.

Look Forward owed her favoritism to a fine try in the 1 1/16-mile Starlet (G2) at Los Alamitos on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks, in which she ran second behind Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner Tenma while pulling nine lengths clear of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) runner-up Vodka With a Twist.

In the Starlet, Look Forward weakened after leading in midstretch. Cutting back to seven furlongs for the Santa Ynez helped the daughter of Bolt d’Oro sustain her run to the finish line.

With jockey Mario Gutierrez in the saddle for trainer Michael McCarthy, Look Forward rated patiently in third place as Silent Law set fractions of :22.14 and :44.98 while pressed by Practical Dream. Look Forward advanced into contention around the turn and took command at the top of the stretch, then dug deep to turn back a late bid from Artisma. In a driving finish, Look Forward held on by a head in 1:25.42.

“Like everything this was a first-time experience for her from her first time out, to the second time stretching her out and this time taking her back down to seven furlongs, so everything is kind of new to her,” said Gutierrez, who has ridden Look Forward in all of her starts. “In the beginning I didn’t know if she knew when it was time to race, but once I asked her to engage, everything was fine.”

Silent Law held on for third place, 4 1/4 lengths behind the top pair, while Howin, A. Z. Wildcat, Practical Dream, Polythene Pam, and the eased Mawu completed the order of finish.

Bred in Kentucky by Woods Edge Farm and Ballyfair Bloodstock, Look Forward is owned by Reddam Racing. With 15 Kentucky Oaks qualification points under her belt (including five earned in the Starlet), Look Forward ranks fifth on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard. Her career tally stands at two wins and a second from three starts, good for earnings of $132,400.