Switch romps in Santa Monica

"I didn't think it would set up that easy," Rosario mused. "She's a nice

horse and she's improving more and more everyday. John (Sadler) told me to stay

close to the pace, and those were the only instructions he gave me. She's just a

really nice horse."

Next under the wire came Gilded Gem (Smarty Jones), who ran four wide in the

stretch. Sweet August Moon (Malibu Moon) was third after overtaking Mother Ruth (Speightstown)

by a neck on the line. Quisisana and Pica Slew followed the top four, while Mona de Momma (Speightstown) and Pinkarella (Malibu Moon) were both

withdrawn.

A debut maiden winner at Hollywood Park in December 2009, Switch was then

thrown straight into graded company and acquitted herself well in her next start. The lass

finished third in the Santa Ynez S. (G2) and an even closer third to champion

Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision) and Evening Jewel (Northern Afleet) in the Las

Virgenes S. (G1). Whether it was the shipping or the South Florida climate, she

ran a subpar fourth in the Bonnie Miss S. (G2) at Gulfstream Park, but regained her form when

returning to Hollywood, finishing second in the Railbird S. (G3).

Switch gained revenge on Blind Luck when getting the jump on the deep closer

in the Hollywood Oaks (G2) and holding her off by 1 1/4 lengths. Sadler decided

to experiment with is charge and sent her over the turf in the San Clemente H.

(G2), where she wound up a creditable fifth, but the filly rebounded handsomely

on Del Mar's Polytrack with a 3 1/4-length victory in the Torrey Pines S.

That set Switch up for a near-upset of Zenyatta in the 1 1/16-mile Lady's

Secret S. (G1) during the Oak Tree meet, where she forced the super mare to dig

deep to get the half-length victory. The bay miss cut back to seven furlongs in

the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), rallying to be a good second behind

champion Dubai Majesty, and finished out her sophomore season in the

aforementioned La Brea, where she set a new track record for her performance.

"I thought we'd have a chance to be leader of the division this year, with

Zenyatta retiring," Sadler stated. "I think Switch is very, very good, as good

as anything out there, and I want to thank David Ingordo for picking her out as

a yearling.

"We're going to look at the (March 12) Santa Margarita (G1) and the (April

15) Apple Blossom (G1), a couple of those type of races. She'll have six, seven

races this year. She's kind of a late-developing filly. We kind of thought early

on last year that she would improve with age and she's showing that right now.

She's got a big frame on her and a big stride and she tries every time, so we're

going to see what's out there for her and take it one step at a time."

Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm, Switch sold for $150,000 as a Keeneland

September yearling. She is out of Grade 3 winner Antoniette (Nicholas), who has

also produced stakes scorer Keystone Gulch (Gulch), an unnamed juvenile filly by

Grand Slam and a yearling filly by Pleasantly Perfect. Switch's second dam, Tash

(Never Bend), is noted for foaling French highweight and sire Mukaddamah (Storm

Bird), Group 3 hero Tatami (Lyphard) and dual stakes victress Mariuka (Danzig),

the latter of whom would go on to produce Grade 3 winner Lydgate (Pulpit).

Switch's fourth dam is Broodmare of the Year Natashka (Dedicate).