Impressive Santa Anita Victory for American Pharoah’s Merneith

American Pharoah’s Grade II-placed Merneith (3f American Pharoah x Flattermewithroses, by Flatter) made easy work of her return to the races on Sunday at Santa Anita.

Racing over six furlongs on dirt, Merneith was always among the leaders and took over the lead in the turn to have a small advantage going into the stretch. Merneith was asked to pick up the pace by Ricardo Gonzales with a furlong left to run and she quickly shrugged away her stablemate to win by a widening 3¼ lengths.

Trained by Bob Baffert for HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, the race favorite was third in the Grade II Santa Anita Oaks in her only stakes attempt and has now hit the board in all but one of her starts.

One of two winners from two to race for stakes winner Flattermewithroses, China Horse Club-bred Merneith is also from the family of stakes winner Derive and Grade I-place Hendrix.

Flattermewithroses also has a yearling filly by Classic Empire, who sold for $310,000 at this year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

It has been a big weekend for Champion Freshman Sire and leading Second-Crop Sire American Pharoah, whose Harvey’s Lil Goil won the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup yesterday only hours after his multiple group stakes winning 2-year-old Van Gogh finished a good second in the Grade III Autumn Stakes in England.