Miss Southern Miss wins Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) Miss Southern Miss rallied five-wide turning for home to win the $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes for 2-year-olds by 2 + lengths Monday at Santa Anita for jockey Kent Desormeaux and his brother-trainer Keith Desormeaux.

The filly ran a mile on turf in 1:35.08 and paid $11.60, $6 and $4.80 at 9-2 odds. It was Miss Southern Miss' first time on turf.

Happy Mesa returned $5.40 and $4.60 as the 7-2 second choice. La Force returned $10.40 to show at 20-1 odds in her U.S. debut.

The victory, worth $60,000, increased Miss Southern Miss' career earnings to $164,600, with two wins in five starts.

Keith Desormeaux credited his brother for getting his filly to relax.

''The key was Kent,'' he said. ''If you watch her other races, it was a struggle for him to get her to relax. I had a lot of confidence that she'd continue her run home. She had them beat at the eighth pole. She's going to be a really good horse on this turf.''

Miss Southern Miss finished fifth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 3.

''She's very talented and I guess she just needed a little grass under her feet,'' Kent Desormeaux said. ''I hope she's going to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf because I'd love to ride her there.''