Owner Tim Cohen and trainer Mark Glatt have had a good couple of weekends at Santa Anita. A week after Dr. Schivel scored in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) to put himself squarely in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) picture, Chatalas won the Chandelier Stakes (G2) for a Win & You’re In berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Glatt trains both runners, and Cohen and his family’s groups have part ownership in them. The Cohens’ Rancho Temescal Thoroughbreds owns Chatalas with breeder Dan Agnew.
“Mr. Agnew is one of our partners and was kind enough to let us in on this horse before her first race,” Cohen said. “It’s been great.”
Glatt unveiled Chatalas July 30 at Del Mar, and she broke her maiden at 5 1/2 furlongs by a half-length. Fourth in the seven-furlong Del Mar Debutante (G1) Sept. 9, the filly met eight others in the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier. She was the 3-1 third choice behind Del Mar Debutante second and third, Laurent and Gate to Paradise .
Though she sat off the pace in her first two races, Chatalas—ridden for the first time by Antonio Fresu—went right to the front in the Chandelier. They were able to control the pace, as Chatalas completed the first quarter-mile in :23.69 and a half-mile in :47.97.
Dua , third in the Sorrento Stakes (G3), sat about three-quarters of a length off of Chatalas for most of the journey, and they battled briefly in the stretch. But Chatalas had plenty left and drew out for a 1 1/2-length victory in 1:44.28. Scalable , a maiden after her only previous start, closed to wrest second away from Dua by a neck.
“I was a little disappointed with the Debutante performance,” Glatt said. “But I look back on it and she was fairly close to a :44 fractions, and that’s just not her. We knew she would have pretty good speed going two turns. She did kind of get everything her own way—she broke sharp and got a relatively comfortable lead, and he rode her great.”
Juan Hernandez, who rode Dua, had piloted Chatalas in her first two races, though Fresu said he had breezed Chatalas once a couple of months ago.
“We talked in the paddock, and the plan was to sit right behind the leaders,” Fresu said. “But we agreed if nobody goes, then I could. She broke well and I had the advantage of the rail. She relaxed really well in front. When I asked her to kick, she was still kind of immature—she was waiting for someone to come. But the last eighth, she changed gears and won impressively.”
If Chatalas continues to do well, Glatt confirmed that the Juvenile Fillies would likely be her next start. There she will likely meet Tamara , the runaway winner of the Debutante and a daughter of Hall of Fame mare Beholder .
Agnew bred Chatalas in Kentucky from the Indian Charlie mare Indian Safari , who won her only race at Santa Anita and raced for Agnew and Susan Biszantz. The mare’s yearling filly by Bernardini sold at this year’s Keeneland September yearling sale out of the Greenfield Farms consignment to West Bloodstock for $225,000.
Chatalas is one of 11 23 black-type winners sired by Gun Runner , the others including millionaire Gunite and champion Echo Zulu . The 2017 Horse of the Year and currently the third-leading sire of 2023 in North America, Gun Runner stood in 2023 for a private treaty at Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky.
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