Michael Bello’s MEGAHERTZ (GB) (Pivotal) launched her explosive bid down the
stretch of Sunday’s $200,000
Santa Barbara H. (G2) at Santa Anita, overtook Nadeszhda (GB) (Nashwan) a few jumps before the wire and powered home a
three-quarter of a length winner in the 1 1/4-mile test. With Alex Solis in the
saddle, the Bobby Frankel trainee kept her record perfect in two starts so far
this year and stopped the clock in 1:59 3/5.
The bell rang, the gates opened and Megahertz took up her usual position
racing in last, far behind the rest of the field, as Midwife (Family Calling)
moved to the front. Setting splits of :23 1/5, :46 1/5 and 1:10 4/5, Midwife
opened up a seemingly insurmountable lead as she led the field under the wire
for the first time and into the backstretch. Nearing the final turn, though, the
long-time leader couldn’t sustain her momentum and suddenly found Nadeszhda, and
the rest of her rivals, moving up to her outside. Nadeszhda passed a mile in
1:35, with Megahertz and Solis still running in last, more than seven lengths
back.
As the field entered the stretch, everything changed. The diminutive
Megahertz suddenly kicked into a sixth gear and surged past all others, eating up
ground with every stride and eventually adding a third straight Santa Barbara
win to her record. Sent off the heavy 3-5 favorite, the chestnut mare rewarded
her backers with payouts of $3.20, $2.60 and $2.20.
“She’s so special,” Solis said. “That’s her, being back there. You can’t
fight her. She just says, ‘I’ll let them go and I’ll catch them later.’ I never
have ridden a horse that has that kind of kick. It’s incredible.
“You really have to understand her, leave her alone and let her do her thing.
She gets me worried too but I trust what she’s doing the whole race. I do my
stuff on the backside and go from there.”
Megahertz became the only three-time winner of the Santa Barbara in the
57-year history of the race, and the first horse to win three consecutive stakes
at Santa Anita since Del Mar Dennis won the San Bernardino H. (G2) from 1994 to 1996.
Nadeszhda held second by two lengths at 7-1, returning $5.40 and $3.20 while
ending the $8.60 exacta ($1). Hoh Buzzard (Ire) (Alhaarth) ran in second
throughout but faded in the stretch to be third. She paid 3.40 at 7-1 and
completed the $37.70 trifecta ($1) for holding Uraib (Ire) (Mark of Esteem
[Ire]) to fourth by 1 1/2 lengths. Crossing under the wire next were Moscow
Burning (Moscow Ballet), Midwife and Ask for the Moon (Fr) (Dr Fong).
Megahertz made her six-year-old debut in the Santa Ana H. (G2), utilizing the
same tactics to take that nine-furlong test by a half-length. Prior to that, she
faced the boys in the Hollywood Turf Cup (G1) and just missed by a head at the
wire. Her other wins came in the John C. Mabee H. (G1), Honeymoon Breeders’ Cup
H. (G2), San Gorgonio H. (G2), American Invitational Oaks, Providencia S., Some
Sensation S. and Blue Norther S. Among her placings are the Del Mar Oaks (G1) and Gamely Breeders’ Cup
H. (G1), and she now sports a career line of 30-12-5-5 with $1,691,594 in earnings.
Bred in Great Britain by Cheveley Park Stud Ltd., Megahertz is out of the
winning Heavenly Ray (Rahy) and has a juvenile half-sister named Red Heaven
(Benny the Dip).