It’s Inda Cards for India Divina

Their names sound slightly alike and they’re both from Chile. So it was a snug fit Sunday when India Divina, a 5-year-old mare trained by Eduardo Inda, won the $200,000 Santa Maria Handicap at Santa Anita.

By beating Victory Stripes by 2 1/2 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile Santa Maria, India Divina gave Inda a victory over his old mentor, trainer Ron McAnally. McAnally’s Victory Stripes was the 19-10 second choice, and heavy favorite Belle’s Flag ran third in the five-horse field.

Inda, 55, started in California at trainer Warren Stute’s barn, then spent 23 years with McAnally, including the early 1980s when the ageless John Henry was winning two horse-of-the-year titles. Ridden by Garrett Gomez, India Divina gave Inda his second Grade I win since he formed his own stable in 1996.

“I recommended her,” Inda said of the purchase of India Divina. The mare was then sold for $250,000 to Inda’s client, Barry Schwartz, who once parlayed a $10,000 loan--to school chum Calvin Klein--into an international clothing company. Inda has only two horses for Schwartz now, and the other one, Criminal Suit, ran second for a $16,000 claiming tag in Sunday’s first race.

Inda’s first Grade I win came at Santa Anita in 1997, when Toga Toga Toga won the Santa Monica Handicap. India Divina, winning the Santa Maria with a late move through the middle of the stretch, had been winless in seven starts since arriving from Chile, but included in her record were some solid seconds against horses such as Manistique and Victory Stripes.

Completing the Santa Maria in 1:42 3/5, India Divina paid $22.60 to win and earned $120,000. All but two of her starts under Inda had been on the grass, but he said after Sunday’s race that he’ll keep the filly on dirt, with the $300,000 Santa Margarita Handicap on March 7 next on the schedule.

Some other Eclipse Awards winners that Inda shared with McAnally were Bayakoa and Paseana.

Victory Stripes had finished 2 1/2 lengths ahead of India Divina at Santa Anita on Jan. 1.

“She ran gamely,” jockey Alex Solis said of Victory Stripes after Sunday’s race. “She broke a little awkwardly and I couldn’t let [Belle’s Flag] get away from me. The winner got the best of it.”

Gomez agreed.

“The race set up pretty good in front of us,” he said. “When I pushed the button, she said, ‘Let’s go.’ ”

Under Corey Nakatani, Belle’s Flag set fractions of :22 3/5, :46 1/5 and 1:10 1/5. Trainer Darrell Vienna said he wouldn’t second-guess Nakatani’s ride.

“She got pushed a little bit earlier than I thought she was,” Nakatani said. “But she was doing everything very easily. She seems to be just a step below them right now. The last sixteenth of a mile, she was doing everything she could to win the race. They were just running by her.”

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It just seems as if trainer Bob Baffert has cornered the West Coast market on all the top Kentucky Derby prospects.

In a 1 1/16-mile allowance race Sunday, trainer John Shirreffs ran first and third with high-priced 3-year-olds, High Wire Act and Lethal Instrument, while Baffert’s Finder’s Gold finished last in a five-horse field.

Baffert always seems to have an encore, however, and he came back later to saddle Straight Man, a colt who made his debut with a six-furlong win in 1:08 4/5.

Shirreffs said he would run High Wire Act on March 13 in the San Felipe Stakes, a race that also expects to attract Baffert’s Exploit and General Challenge, who are both undefeated. If High Wire Act advances to the Santa Anita Derby on April 3, he would have to be supplemented into the race for $20,000.

“We didn’t nominate him because he was an immature, late-developing colt,” Shirreffs said. Sunday’s race was only the second start for High Wire Act, who won via disqualification in his debut on Jan. 10. Marshall Naify, who bought High Wire Act at auction for $425,000, paid $525,000 for Lethal Instrument, who had won his only other race by five lengths.