ARCADIA — Marjoram showed what she can do with a better start, rallying from last to win the Grade III Senorita Stakes for 3-year-old fillies by a head over favorite Light Won Up at Santa Anita on Saturday for red-hot trainer Michael McCarthy.
Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Marjoram (who paid $9.20) came out of the gate last in the hillside turf sprint, but it was nothing like the bad stumble that cost the Juddmonte-owned daughter of Quality Road all chance when she finished fifth as the favorite at the allowance level in April.
The victory was McCarthy’s fourth in eight days at the stakes level. On May 2, he saddled winners Stark Contrast in the Grade I American Turf Stakes and Yellow Card in the Grade II Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs, and Mondego in the Grade I Charles Whittingham Stakes at Santa Anita. The day before, he had Meaning finish second in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks.
Sunday at Santa Anita, Unconquerable Keen will be ridden by Kazushi Kimura in the Siren Lure Stakes as the 7-year-old gelding returns from a fall in January at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Jockey Umberto Rispoli is still recovering from ankle and leg fractures.
Sunday night at Los Alamitos, the Grade II Robert Adair Kindergarten Futurity, the Orange County track’s first futurity of the year, sees leading quarter-horse trainer Jose Flores with fastest qualifier Contentious (Irving Lara riding) and six others in the field of 10.