2023 Chillingworth Stakes Preview | Eda Seeks 8th Straight Win In Santa Anita Feature Race

Bob Baffert’s brilliant 4-year-old filly Eda heads Friday’s Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs as Santa Anita’s highly anticipated 19-day Autumn Meet gets underway.

First post time for a nine-race card on Friday is at 1 p.m. with admission gates opening at 11 a.m.

Owned by Baoma Corp, Eda pressed the early pace en route to a smashing 1 ½ length score going 6 ½ furlongs in the Grade III Rancho Bernardo Stakes Aug. 27 at Del Mar, earning a career-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Unbeaten in four tries at the distance and unbeaten as well in four starts at Santa Anita, Eda, a Grade I winner at two, is now 10-8-1-0 overall. A winner of her last seven starts, four of them graded stakes, Eda, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Munnings, out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Show Me, will again be ridden by Juan Hernandez as she faces six rival fillies and mares aged three and up.

A perfect three for three this year, she has earnings of $667,600 and will likely use the Chillingworth as steppingstone to the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at seven panels here on Nov. 4.

Little Red Feather Racing’s consistent, hard knocking Elm Drive cuts back in distance from a third place finish going a mile and one sixteenth in Del Mar’s Grade I Clement L. Hirsch Aug. 5 and rates a solid chance with Ricky Gonzalez riding back for Phil D’Amato.

A minor stakes winner here going seven furlongs in May of last year, Elm Drive was a close third going 6 ½ furlongs two starts back in the Grade II Great Lady M at Los Alamitos and her two wins from four starts this year came in sprint stakes at Santa Anita—the ungraded Mizdirection at about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf May 20 and in the Grade III Monrovia at the same distance on dirt April 8.

A 4-year-old filly by Mohaymen out of the Indian Charlie mare Lets Dance Charlie, Elm Drive is a two-time grade winner with earning of $480,140 from an overall mark of 12-5-0-3.

Rock Brothers Racing homebred Clearly Unhinged returns from Saratoga where she ran second, beaten a head going seven furlongs in the Grade I Test for sophomore fillies on Aug. 5 and she’ll be facing older distaffers for the first time on Friday.

Trained by Michael McCarthy, Clearly Unhinged was a dazzling 3 ¼ length first-out maiden winner going 6 ½ furlongs here Feb. 5. Subsequently a well beaten fourth in the Grade II Santa Anita Oaks April 8, she was head and head throughout and prevailed by a head in a first condition allowance here June 16 with Umberto Rispoli, who will be aboard in the Chillingworth.

A 3-year-old filly by Into Mischief out of the Smart Strike mare Smart Win, Clearly Unhinged, who earned an 86 Beyer at Saratoga, is 4-2-1-0 with earnings of $202,000.

THE GRADE III CHILLINGWORTH WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER:

1. Clearly Unhinged—Umberto Rispoli—118
2. Home Cooking—Edwin Maldonado—118
3. Kirstenbosch—Hector Berrios—126
4. Elm Drive—Ricardo Gonzalez—126
5. Eda—Juan Hernandez—126
6. Violent Runner—Mario Gutierrez—122
7. Lady T—Mike Smith–126

Named in honor of the late Sherwood C. Chillingworth, a highly respected Thoroughbred owner and longtime director and Executive Vice President of the Oak Tree Racing Association, the Chillingworth served as a prep to victory for the Bo Hirsch homebred Ce Ce in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

The Chillingworth could likely be a launching pad to Breeders’ Cup glory this year at Santa Anita as The Great Race Place hosts the 40th annual Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record 11th time on Nov. 3 & 4.