Jockey Flavien Prat capped off a day with three stakes wins Feb. 3 on the Santa Anita Park card by piloting Three Witches to victory in the $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes (G2). That followed Prat’s back-to-back wins aboard Bellabel in the Megahertz Stakes (G3T) and Nysos in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3).
While Nysos may have been the flashiest, Three Witches demonstrated admirable professionalism in the seven-furlong Santa Monica. The 5-year-old mare was making her first start since finishing third in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita, only her second start in California and her first for her new trainer, Michael McCarthy.
Three Witches, favored at 8-5, broke on top for Prat, but Hot Peppers , the 5-2 third choice breaking from outside in post 6, quickly took over. Three Witches was able to sit just off Hot Peppers, who scampered through the first quarter-mile in :22.99.
“Obviously, on paper there was one speed in the race, drawn far outside,” McCarthy said. “This filly, having a little bit of a short break, was fresh, bounced on out of there, and put Flavien in the game. I thought it was wonderful that when he eased back off of her and got her outside, it kind of got her relaxed and got her in a nice rhythm.”
Three Witches drew alongside Hot Peppers down the backstretch and went to work in the turn. She took the lead just past the quarter pole, and while Las Flores Stakes (G3) winner Chismosa attempted to catch Three Witches in the stretch, the favorite had plenty left to score by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:23.21. Chismosa finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of third-place Kirstenbosch .
Prat was riding Three Witches for the first time.
“You never know—obviously, she ran a great race in the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. “So based on that race, I thought she could run a big race today.”
Reflecting upon his three stakes wins, Prat said, “It’s been a great day—I am very grateful.”
After Three Witches’ performance in the Breeders’ Cup, she headed to Kentucky for the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. There, she sold for $1.7 million to Australian-based RIFA Mustang Europe and is now racing for owner Yuesheng Zhang.
Previously trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Three Witches won the Oct. 7 Princess Rooney Invitational Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park. McCarthy said he got the mare a couple of weeks following the sale.
“She’s just very classy; just does everything right,” McCarthy said.
Machmer Hall bred Three Witches in Kentucky from the unraced Tale of the Cat mare Layreebelle . Three Witches is a half sister to graded stakes winners Spellbound (Bernardini) and Kid Cruz (Lemon Drop Kid). Layreebelle was a $525,000 RNA at the 2018 Keeneland November sale while carrying Three Witches. Machmer Hall sold Three Witches at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to Mike Ryan as agent for $350,000.
Three Witches is by Into Mischief , five times the leading general sire, including in 2023. He is also the sire of 2024 stakes winners Espionage , Into Champagne , and Devil’s Tower . Into Mischief stands for $250,000 in 2024 at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington, Ky.
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