Anisette’s Late Kick Prevails Again in Yellow Ribbon
By: Molly Rollins BloodHorse
No matter the trip, traffic, or weight, Anisette will get the job done.
The brilliant British-bred filly registered her third straight victory, and the fifth graded stakes score of her career, with a late-rallying win in the Aug. 10 $200,500 Yellow Ribbon Handicap (G2T). With the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) within sight, the new queen of the Southern California turf should prove a formidable opponent for European and East Coast invaders in this fall’s World Championships at Del Mar.
Entering off a glittering triumph in the Gamely Stakes (G1T) last time out in which she made her first start in five months, Anisette was fully cranked this time for Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile turf test for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up. The bettors expressed their confidence in Anisette as she lined up under regular jockey Umberto Rispoli, sending her off as the heavy $0.30-to-1 favorite in the six-horse field.
In no rush early, as is customary for the late-running filly, Anisette strolled in second-to-last down the backstretch as longshot Ever Smart streaked through lively opening splits of :22.98 and :46.13 on an uncontested lead. The field enveloped the front-runner into the far turn, with Anisette waiting in the wings under Rispoli past six furlongs in 1:10.71 over a firm turf course.
Unhurried at the top of the lane, Rispoli waited just behind horses instead of angling Anisette out wide. The move proved key, as a seam opened up inside the eighth pole and cleared the way for the Anisette’s strong closing kick. Anisette powered past a stubborn Uncorked for a 1 1/4-length tally in a final time of 1:40.94. She returned $2.60 to her backers for a $2 win ticket.
“(I) knew I was on the best filly; that makes a difference,” Rispoli said. “But I won today even easier than it looked. She was the best.”
Trainer Leonard Powell commended Rispoli’s shrewd ride on Anisette.
“They went the second quarter in :23 and they didn’t back up, but I felt she was in a good spot,” Powell said. “When they made the turn, Umberto had to choose outside or inside, and remember, she had to give six, eight, 10 pounds to the field so weight did matter, but once she leveled off, she really went on and at the sixteenth pole I knew she would get there.”
Anisette, a 4-year-old daughter of Awtaad , is now 6-for-8 since arriving in the United States as a 3-year-old. She carried 126 pounds in the Yellow Ribbon, six more than Uncorked and eight more than Kentucky shipper Fuente Ovejuna , who dead-heated for runner-up honors. Lucky Girl , Bellabel , and Ever Smart completed the order of finish.