Back at Santa Anita, with footing more to her liking than that of Del Mar, Pa-bred Unique Bella had her first G1 Stakes victory in the $300,000 La Brea on Dec. 26, wearing down two time G1 Stakes winner Paradise Woods to win by three-quarters of a length.
Unique Bella at the Breeders' CupParadise Woods is by Union Rags, who was bred and campaigned by Phyllis Wyeth of Chadds Ford, Pa., and she is now Union Rags' top earning get.
Unique Bella, by Tapit, who has now won five graded stakes, finished seventh as the favorite in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar on a race track that saw many favorites beaten by the going.
Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and ridden by Mike Smith, Unique Bella ran a different race in the La Brea than she ran in the Breeders' Cup, where she was on the lead.
In the La Brea, Smith held her back early in the seven furlong race and went outside a four way contest for the lead in the backstretch.
Unique Bella was a length behind Paradise Woods entering the stretch but gained on her rival steadily through the stretch to eventually prevail.
She was bred in Pennsylvania by Betty Moran's Brushwood Stable and is out of the G1 winning Unbridled Bella by Unbridled Song.
She was sold at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $400,000 to Don Alberto.
Unique Bella now has six wins from eight starts and $592,400 in earnings.
UNION RAGS is the leading second crop sire by graded stakes wins and G1 wins.
ParadiseWoods at the Breeders' CupParadise Woods now has $713,545 in earnings to be his top earner, with D.D. Matz' homebred Tequilita standing second with $535,640 and Free Drop Billy third with $428,020.
Recent winners by Union Rags include Big Bend, out of Lenatareese, by Broad Brush, who won the G3, $100,000 Sycamore Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on the turf at Keeneland on Oct. 19.
Big Bend is owned by Union Rags Racing LLC.
On Oct. 27. Joseph E. Besecker's Midnight Union won an allowance race at Penn National, and on Dec. 22, J Stables LLC's Miago won a $29,000 race for $25,000 claimers at Gulfstream Park.
