Starspangledbanner Mare Completes Hat-Trick In Grade 3 Stakes

Lady Claypoole (5m Starspangledbanner – Short Affair, by Singspiel) made it three from three in 2025 when registering her first blacktype success in Saturday’s Grade 3 Santa Ana Stakes worth $100,000.

The Richard Baltas-trained mare was ridden patiently by Tiago Josue Pereira, who steered the bay wide turning for home. She ran on strongly, coming from last to first before the final furlong and kept on to score by two and a half lengths. A dual Grade 3 winner finished second, half a length ahead of Stakes-winning Irish import Starry Heavens (Mastercraftsman) in third.

“I saw there were a couple of horses with speed, and I thought the pace might be pretty good,” Pereira explained. “She broke so relaxed and never pulled. Then at the three-eighths pole, she asked me. I held her just for just a little bit, then asked her at the quarter pole, and she flew home.”

Bred by Aston House Stud, the daughter of Starspangledbanner is owned by Abbondanza Racing and Omar Aldabbagh.