by John Mucciolo
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Bruce Treitman’s Ohio took a short lead at the top of the lane, held a one-length edge in midstretch and gamely held off 4-5 favorite Catapult to post a nose tally in the $400,351 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1) on Saturday.
Trained by Michael McCarthy, the eight-year-old gelding covered a mile on the firm Santa Anita Park turf in 1:33.71 under jockey Ruben Fuentes.
Ohio broke well and tracked in second behind Hunt through early splits of :23.98 and :47.39 for the opening half-mile. The 9-1 shot got closer to the pacesetter nearing the top of the stretch and was a head in front when reaching six panels in 1:10.47.
The Brazilian-bred, who was claimed for $50,000 in June, held on late to post his first Grade 1 tally, upping his lifetime mark to 26-9-4-2, $488,065. The son of Elusive Quality was coming off a runner-up performance in the Thunder Road Stakes (G3) in February.
Bred by Fadenza Mondesi, Ohio is the first registered stakes winner produced from the Group 3-winning Etoile Blanc.
In the $100,702 Santa Ana Stakes (G3), Elysea’s World moved four-wide into the stretch and wore down 5-2 second-choice Zaffinah late to register a half-length tally under Drayden Van Dyke. The six-year-old mare competed 1 1/4 miles on the firm turf in 1:59.24 as the 2-1 favorite for conditioner Richard Baltas.
The Irish-bred mare tracked near the back early on before being asked for her closing run. She moved into third nearing the midstretch mark and drove home in the latter stages to earn her fourth graded stakes victory.
Campaigned by Abbondanza LLC, Christopher Dunn and Jerry McLanahan, the bay daughter of Champs Elysees previously captured a trio of Grade 3 races in 2018 – the Suwanee River Stakes (G3), Matchmaker Stakes (G3) and Violet Stakes (G3). Her lifetime line now reads 24-7-5-3, $626,514.
Elysea’s World is the first registered stakes winner out of the unraced Singspiel mare Ideal World and hails from the same family as two-time champion sprinter Housebuster.
