Bella Vita © Benoit Photo
Kaleem Shah’s Bella Vita sat a good trip, then zoomed to the lead at the head of the stretch and went on to a length and a half victory in the $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes at Del Mar Sunday, the day after the two-day Breeders’ Cup Championships had been presented at the seaside oval.
The 4-year-old California-bred daughter of Bayern was making her 13th career start and registering her fourth victory. She also shows five seconds and with the $57,000 share of the winner’s purse she boosted her bankroll to $346,722.
Del Mar’s leading rider, Flavien Prat, was aboard the bay miss as he won his fifth consecutive edition of the Betty Grable. The winner is trained by Simon Callaghan.
Bella Vita covered the seven furlongs of the Betty Grable in 1:22.32
Finishing second was Benjamin and Sally Warren’s Warren’s Showtime, a length and three-quarters ahead of Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal’s Big Sweep.
Bella Vita, favored at 3-5, paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10 across the board. Warren’s Showtime returned $3.00 and $2.20, while Big Sweep paid $2.40.
Racing will resume at Del Mar on Friday with first post for the eight-race card at 12:30 p.m.
FLAVIEN PRAT (Bella Vita, winner) – “We had a good trip. I got a good spot and we were able to move when it was right. She ran well and we finished up well.”
SIMON CALLAGHAN (Bella Vita, winner) “Nice bookends to the weekend. (Callaghan-trained Astronomer was a $62.60 winner in Friday’s $150,000 Qatar Golden Mile). The two horses ran well. This looked like a good opportunity (for Bella Vita) back on dirt. She’s definitely a dirt filly. We tried turf last time because it was a restricted Cal-bred race but she shows she’s a decent dirt filly and this was a good spot for her.”
FRACTIONS: :23.20 :46.17 1:10.32 1:22.23
The stakes win was the second of the meet for rider Prat and his fifth straight in the Betty Grable. He now has 74 stakes wins at Del Mar, tied for 10th most in Del Mar history.
The stakes win is the second of the meet for trainer Callaghan. He now has 17 stakes wins at Del Mar.
The winning owner is Kaleem Shah of Vienna, VA and San Diego, CA.