ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) Stays in Vegas won the $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths and survived a stewards' inquiry into the stretch run Saturday at Santa Anita.
Ridden by Alex Solis, Stays in Vegas ran one mile on turf in 1:35.23 and paid $17.40, $9 and $5.60 at 7-1 odds for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
Mirage returned $10.20 and $6.20.
Lucky Folie originally finished second, but was disqualified and placed third as a result of the inquiry. She paid $3.80 to show.
Ireland-bred Mirage under Tyler Baze steadied sharply off the heels of Lucky Folie with a sixteenth of a mile to go. The stewards decided she lost a chance at a better position and moved her up to second.
''The winner would have gone by me,'' said Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, aboard Lucky Folie. ''I had to stand up to help Tyler out. There wasn't a whole lot of room there to begin with.''
Stays in Vegas overtook Lucky Folie after drifting in late.
''My filly, she went in toward the rail a tiny bit, but I corrected her right way,'' Solis said. ''I didn't think she touched anybody.''
Jakaby Jade, the 9-5 favorite, finished sixth in the 11-horse field. Jockey Rafael Bejarano said she lost her two left shoes during the race.
The victory, worth $60,000, increased Stays in Vegas' career earnings to $130,600, with three wins in four starts for co-owner and sports talk host Jim Rome.
''She ran like the boss,'' Rome said, ''like a champ.''
In the $100,000 Zuma Beach Stakes, Dressed in Hermes won by a half-length.
Ridden by Stevens, Dressed in Hermes ran one mile on turf in 1:35.76 and paid $5.20, $3.20 and $2.80 as the 8-5 favorite. Janet Armstrong earned her first stakes victory in California after training for eight years in the state.
I'malreadythere returned $3.40 and $2.60 after taking a narrow lead before being overhauled by Dressed in Hermes inside the sixteenth pole.
Bully Pulpit was another half-length back in third and paid $7 to show at 20-1.
Dressed in Hermes was shuffled back going into the clubhouse turn after breaking from post position nine in a field of 10 2-year-olds. The gelding ran without blinkers after wearing them in her first two starts.
''Janet took the blinkers off of her and it worked out good, but she wasn't really paying attention in the gate,'' Stevens said. ''I didn't want to be as far back as I was. But it wound up a great education for her and she handled things very professionally after the first turn.''
The victory, worth $60,000, increased Dressed in Hermes' career earnings to $72,600, with one win in three starts.
