Antespend Has a Strong Finish

Although things didn’t look promising for Antespend an eighth of a mile from the finish in the $104,950 Santa Ysabel Stakes, she won for the fifth time in six career starts Wednesday at Santa Anita.

Making her first appearance on dirt, the 13-10 favorite had dropped 2 1/2 lengths behind 8-5 second choice Dancing Prism, who looked to be on her way to her second victory in three races.

Then the leader, who was trying a distance for the first time after two sprints, started to shorten stride and the outcome was not even close.

Two months after winning her California debut in the Miesque at Hollywood Park, Antespend won by three lengths in 1:43 4/5 over a track dulled by the recent rain.

Owned by Jack Kent Cooke and trained by Ron McAnally, the 3-year-old Spend A Buck filly had won three of four in Kentucky before being sent West.

“Around the turn, she was really getting to the leader and [Gary Stevens on Dancing Prism] kind of drew out,” jockey Chris Antley said.

“At that point, I definitely thought I was going to be second. Then, she switched leads, and from the three-sixteenths pole, she gave me just a little bit more. At the same time, [Dancing Prism] kind of stopped and came back to me. It was a combination of both.”

Dancing Prism, who finished five lengths ahead of third-place finisher Rumpipumpy, lasted longer than her rider thought she would.

“She never was relaxed,” Stevens said. “She carried her speed farther than I thought she could, the way she was running. Going into the first turn, I had no control over her at all.

“Then she finally collapsed the last 50 yards. I was surprised she didn’t collapse at the quarter pole.”

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Serena’s Song will be spotting the unbeaten Exotic Wood five pounds when they get together for the first time in Saturday’s $150,000-added Santa Monica Handicap at seven furlongs.

Besides Serena’s Song, the champion 3-year-old filly of 1995, and Exotic Wood, who is perfect in five starts, five others are expected to be entered this morning for the Grade I race. The other probables are Klassy Kim, Airistar, Top Rung, Morepheme and Ballerina Gal.

Horse Racing Notes

Stewards Pete Pedersen, Tom Ward and Ingrid Fermin are expected to rule today on the alleged misuse of the whip by jockey Corey Nakatani. There were three days of testimony last week regarding the Dec. 29 incident, in which Tillie’s Joy broke down and was destroyed after the race. . . . After telling the stewards Sunday he took off after the second race because he wasn’t happy with the condition of the track, Nakatani changed his story Wednesday, saying he was sick. . . . For the first time since 1992, Santa Anita will have an early post time on Super Bowl Sunday. Post time will be 11 a.m. and the races will be over about 3 p.m., 20 minutes before the scheduled kickoff.