Sadler’s Mare Wins at Home

The outcome was a lot better for Healthy Addiction when she made her latest appearance in a Grade I on Saturday at Santa Anita.

Beaten a combined 71 lengths in her last three ventures into such territory, the 5-year-old Boston Harbor mare led throughout to score an 8-1 upset in the $300,000 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap.

Trained by John Sadler for owner Pamela Ziebarth, Healthy Addiction clearly relished the wet fast track and continued her love affair with Santa Anita. The win was her fifth in 10 starts in Arcadia and she has been second in four of her defeats.

Ridden for the first time by Jon Court, Healthy Addiction took advantage of a field that lost Star Parade, the morning-line favorite who was scratched earlier in the day because of the inclement weather, and contender Hollywood Story.

In winning for the eighth time in 18 starts, Healthy Addiction completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.18 while beating 5-2 second choice Dream Of Summer by 1 3/4 lengths.

The worst of those earlier Grade I losses in came in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff last Oct. 29 at Belmont Park. Healthy Addiction finished last, beaten 57 1/4 lengths by longshot winner Pleasant Home.

The debacle in New York sold Sadler on the fact his mare doesn’t care to travel, so she’ll be staying home for the rest of 2006.

After his first win in Santa Anita’s signature race for older fillies and mares, Sadler said he was hopeful Healthy Addiction could improve upon her fourth in last month’s Santa Maria Handicap.

“She didn’t have the best of trips that day,” he said. “She doesn’t want to be inside and she doesn’t like to be banged around. I told Jon just to let her be first or second early and I thought she could be because most of the speed was drawn on the outside. We weren’t really concerned about the conditions. We thought it would be fine. She really worked well [seven furlongs in a bullet 1:24 2/5 last Sunday].”

Proposed, the 2-1 favorite in the absence of Santa Maria winner Star Parade, finished a distant fourth, more than seven lengths behind the winner.

She is 0 for 3 in Grade I races for owner-breeders Marty and Pam Wygod.

*

The $175,000 Azeri Breeders’ Cup at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., looked like a match race on paper between Round Pond and Happy Ticket and the two favorites did not disappoint in the Grade III.

After racing virtually as a team for the entire 1 1/16 miles, Round Pond, the 3-5 favorite, edged 6-5 second choice Happy Ticket by a head in 1:43.93.

This was the sixth win in eight starts for the 4-year-old Awesome Again filly and her fifth in six tries at Oaklawn. Stewart Elliott was aboard the winner for Fox Hills Farm and trainer John Servis.

*

In other races around the country, favored Cause To Believe ran down pacesetter Sinister Minister, who hit the rail twice while on the lead in the stretch, to win the $100,000 California Derby at Golden Gate Fields; English Channel, the 8-5 favorite, won for the fourth time in as many starts going a mile on the turf when he took his 4-year-old debut in the $100,000 Canadian Turf Handicap at Gulfstream Park; and Kazoo, a 5-1 shot, dominated his five opponents in the $107,400 Toboggan Handicap at Aqueduct, winning by four lengths under Richard Migliore.