Zedan Racing Stables’ Nafisa, switched to the dirt after a handful of races on the turf, now has reeled off three wins in a row, the latest coming Jan. 24 in Santa Anita Park’s La Canada S. (G3).
With her stablemate Brilliantly leading the way, Nafisa tracked very comfortably in second through the first half of the 1 1/16-mile race. When called upon with three furlongs to run, she went by Brilliantly with ease, then drew off down the lane to win by 4 ¾-lengths.
Nafisa was ridden by Kazushi Kimura and was making her stakes debut in Saturday’s race.
“She wants to go long on dirt,” said her trainer Baffert, who added that the reason she had been on the turf to start her career was that the dirt races she entered did not fill. “I was bringing her back a little quick today (15 days since an allowance win), she was getting excited in the paddock. It’s nice to get her a stakes win.”
Nafisa is now 3-5-4 in 15 starts and has earned $239,820.
