Beautiful Noise Gets a Breakthrough Win

Beautiful Noise’s consistency was rewarded with her first graded stakes victory Sunday at Santa Anita.

No worse than third in her four previous starts in graded company, the 5-year-old Sunny’s Halo mare took advantage of a good trip to outlast 5-1 shot High Walden by a head in the $150,000, Grade II Santa Ana Handicap.

Owned by Janis Whitham and trained by Ron McAnally, Beautiful Noise, the 5-2 favorite in the field of 12 fillies and mares, provided jockey Chris McCarron with his meet-high 13th stakes victory.

Winless in six grass starts since winning last June 22 at Hollywood Park, the gray sat well off the quick early pace--set surprisingly by New Story--got the lead in deep stretch after a wide rally, then held off High Walden, who didn’t have the best of trips, to win in 1:47 1/5 for the 1 1/8 miles.

“I’ll tell you what, this mare runs her race every time,” McCarron said after he rode to career win No. 6,991. “She’s just extremely honest and this was a big day for her.

“She’s had a couple of unlucky trips mixed in there (during her six-race losing streak). I put her on the outside last time and she got caught wide and maybe that one was my fault. The time before, I know that one was my fault. I used bad judgment that day and there were a couple of times where she was outrun. She did the outrunning today.”

High Walden, who finished last in the La Canada Stakes on Feb. 11 when tried on dirt for the first time, finished three-quarters of a length in front of Matiere Grise, then came Aviate, Rare Charmer, Vapor Trail, Balboa Park, New Story, No Matter What, Running Flame, Mary Kies and Brianda.

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Heritage Of Gold was successful in her 2001 debut, winning the $200,000 Oaklawn Breeders’ Cup Handicap for a second consecutive year at Oaklawn Park.

Idle since finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff last Nov. 4, the 6-year-old Gold Legend mare is now three for three at Oaklawn after her two-length victory over 2-1 second choice Lu Ravi. Ive Gota Bad Liver, the longest shot in the field at 72-1, was a neck back in third. Jostle, who also had been sidelined since the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, was eighth and last.

Trained by Tom Amoss for owner Jack Garey, Heritage Of Gold, the 11-10 favorite, completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44 1/5 under jockey Robby Albarado. She has now won 16 of 27 in her career and the $120,000 payday pushed her earnings to $2,381,762.

Afterward, Amoss indicated Heritage Of Gold will return to defend her title in next month’s Apple Blossom Handicap.

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Making his stakes debut, Richly Blended remained unbeaten, easily winning the $200,000 Gotham at Aqueduct.

Trained by Ben Perkins for owner Ray Dweck, the 3-year-old son of Rizzi, who began his career with two authoritative wins in Maryland by a combined 22 3/4 lengths, took the lead shortly after the break and went on to win by a little more than five lengths in 1:35 for the mile.

Rick Wilson was aboard the winner, who isn’t nominated to the Triple Crown and probably won’t return against Monarchos and Congaree in the Wood Memorial on April 14.

Scorpion, the 9-5 favorite who was ridden by David Flores for trainer Wayne Lukas, was a distant fifth.

Notes

Beautiful Noise, who paid $7.60 in winning the Santa Ana, has four wins in 13 starts on turf and has been worse than third only once on the surface. . . . Jockey Richard Migliore won a pair of stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Migliore won the $150,000 Florida Oaks with 4-1 shot Quick Tip, then took the $200,000 Tampa Bay Derby with favored Burning Roma. . . . Bonapaw ($7.40) rebounded from an uncharacteristically poor performance and won the $150,000 Pelleteri Breeders’ Cup Handicap at the Fair Grounds.