As Time Goes By Long Gone In La Canada

Magic recaps As Time Goes By’s long-gone victory in Saturday’s La Canada Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park. Magic also discusses who he likes moving forward, including any potential price plays.

The track press release:

With a well-meant Park Avenue providing a target from the opening bell in Saturday’s Grade III, $200,000 La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita, heavily favored As Time Goes By stalked her to the far turn, took command a quarter mile from the money and prevailed in a thoroughly dominant New Year’s Day performance, winning by 13 ½ lengths as Flavien Prat notched his second consecutive stake win and his fifth overall on the day. Conditioned by Bob Baffert, who got his second stakes win of the day and who was available via telephone from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, As Time Goes By got a mile and one sixteenth in 1:44.31.

A winner of a pair of Grade II stakes at Santa Anita early last year, As Time Goes By, a 5-year-old mare by American Pharoah, came off a facile 1 ¼ length win in the Grade III Bayakoa Stakes at Los Alamitos Dec. 5 and was off as the 3-5 favorite in a field of five older fillies and mares and paid $3.20, $2.20 and $2.10.

On the strength of two recent wins, Park Avenue, trained by John Sadler, was off as the second choice at 7-2 with Juan Hernandez and paid $3.20 and $2.20 while finishing 4 ¼ lengths in front of Moonlight d’Oro.

Ridden by Mike Smith, Richard Mandella’s Moonlight d’Oro was the third choice at 7-2 and paid $2.10 to show while finishing 2 ¾ lengths clear of longshot Fi Fi Pharoah.

Fractions on the race were 23.46, 47.00, 1:11.46 and 1:37.27.