Crisp rallies for Santa Ysabel score

Crisp (outside) flew past her rivals in the Santa Ysabel (Benoit Photos) Michael Talla’s CRISP (El Corredor) returned exactly one month after breaking her maiden at Hollywood Park to make her stakes debut in Sunday’s $100,000 Santa Ysabel S. (G3) at Santa Anita. With Joel Rosario in the saddle, the John Sadler-trained lass rallied strongly down the middle of the track in the stretch to record a one-length victory, moving her record to 3-2-0-1 and boosting her lifetime earnings to $87,120. Ellafitz (Tiznow) broke widest of all in the five-filly field, but jockey Garrett Gomez hustled his mount to the front soon after the gates opened. The bay lass, who was making her debut for Bob Baffert after breaking her maiden under the tutelage of James Smith at Woodbine, proceeded to set pedestrian splits of :24 4/5, :49 2/5 and 1:13 2/5. A strung out Evening Jewel (Northern Afleet), Harissa (Afleet Alex), Crisp and Zilva (Successful Appeal) played follow the leader for most of the backstretch, then Evening Jewel began drawing closer until she was racing nearly in tandem with Ellafitz rounding the turn. Crisp came under a ride from Rosario at this point, and the dark bay filly responded with alacrity. She ran down the leaders, angled slightly toward the outside to pass them, and continued to pull away under a hand ride to finish 1 1/16 miles on the Pro-Ride in 1:43 2/5.

“I watched her run the last time (December 10 maiden), and she was getting
out with (Rafael) Bejarano,” Rosario said. “I wanted to make sure she was
relaxed today and I just wanted to put her where she was going to be
comfortable. She’s a nice little filly and she did everything I wanted her to
do. She finished great.”

Crisp was the 7-2 third pick and paid $9.20, $4.80 and $3.20 for her
impressive win. Evening Jewel managed to hold Ellafitz by one length on the
wire, returning $3.60 and $2.80 as the 3-1 second choice, while show gave back
$3.20 at 7-2. The $1 exotics were worth $14.30 (exacta), $62.40 (trifecta) and
$156.90 (3-5-6-4 superfecta). It was another 2 1/2 lengths back to Harissa, with
6-5 favorite Zilva brining up the rear another half-length behind. Whispering Hush (El Corredor)
was withdrawn.

Bred by James Jones and Randy Swanson in Kentucky, Crisp made her racing
debut at Hollywood Park on November 15, rallying to be third after running as
much as 11 lengths behind at one point. She was kept closer to the pace next out
on December 10 and, despite bearing out badly in the stretch, responded with a
three-quarters of a length score.

The first registered foal out of the unraced Sir Cat mare Cat’s Fair, Crisp
sold for $160,000 at the 2008 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She has a pair
of younger half-sisters, a juvenile miss by Mr. Greeley and a yearling filly by
Street Sense. Cat’s Fair is herself a half-sibling to Thorough Fair (Quiet
American), who is the dam of Grade 1-winning sire Whywhywhy (Mr. Greeley) and Grade 2 victor
Spellbinder (Tale of the Cat). Crisp’s third dam is Equal Change (Arts and
Letters), runner-up in the 1975 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1).

Other notables in the family include Group 2 scorer Nayyir (Indian Ridge);
Grade 3 winner Andromeda’s Hero (Fusaichi Pegasus), second in the 2005 Belmont
S. (G1); and stakes heroine Make Change (Roberto), who placed in the Alabama S.
(G1), Coaching Club American Oaks, Mother Goose S. (G1), Ladies H. (G1), Ruffian
H. (G1), Gazelle H. (G1) and Monmouth Oaks (G1) in 1988.