Ashima Making Title Defense in Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf

Shares Saturday Spotlight with $75,000 Sunshine Classic on Dirt

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Having accomplished her connections’ goal of a lucrative victory in the Claiming Crown last fall, Wallace Moore Jr.’s multiple stakes-winning mare Ashima is back home in South Florida with a title to defend.

After winning nine races over the past two years, six of them since being claimed by trainer Sal Santoro, Ashima will launch her 5-year-old season in Saturday’s $75,000 Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf at Gulfstream Park.

The 24th running of the Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf for older Florida-bred females, scheduled for a two-turn mile on the grass, co-headlines an 11-race program with the 23rd edition of the $75,000 Sunshine Classic for state-breds 4 and older going 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

First race post time is 12:20 p.m.

Ashima can become the fourth horse to win multiple editions of the Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf joining Starship Jubilee, who captured three straight from 2018-20, Valentine Dancer (2004, 2005) and Sweet Dani Girl (2023, 2024).

Her 2024 season saw Ashima run third or better in all eight of her starts, five of them wins including a front-running 1 ¼-length decision in the Filly & Mare Turf over favored Great Venezuela. Ashima won twice more, once each on grass and Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta course, to cap a six-race streak that began in the fall of 2024.

Claimed for $8,000 that November, Ashima was beaten a head in the one-mile Frolic’s Revenge overnight handicap and was third by less than two lengths in an optional claiming allowance going 1 1/16 miles, both on the grass, before being sent to Kentucky for the $150,000 Claiming Crown Tiara.

Despite breaking through the starting gate prior to the race and encountering traffic trouble at various points, Ashima got a patient ride from Irad Ortiz Jr. and came with a determined late run for a popular and dramatic three-quarter-length victory.

“To see her there and to win that race, it was overwhelming. The owner was running around like a crazy man. He was having the time of his life, him and his wife. He couldn’t believe that she won. It was just amazing,” said Santoro, whose last trip to Churchill Downs was for Rose to Gold in the 2013 Kentucky Oaks (G1).

“It was an experience I don’t think I’ll ever forget,” he added. “I thank God for bringing her back safe and letting us win that race. She was feeling good. She was definitely feeling good. Hopefully she’s feeling good again on Saturday.”

Ashima missed some training after getting cast in her stall overnight at Churchill following the Claiming Crown, which necessitated draining some fluid from her upper right leg. She was back on the work tab by mid-December, had a sharp five-furlong breeze in 1:00.90 Dec. 20 and went five-eighths in 59.07 seconds Jan. 3 over the Tapeta.

“I think she’s going in pretty good,” Santoro said. “She was getting tougher and tougher so we resumed normal training. She started breezing and thank God was fine. Last week I gave her a nice two-minute lick on the Tapeta and she went the mile in 46 and galloped out about another quarter of a mile. She had had breezes in-between. We worked her on the Tapeta again and got lucky, worked in company, and she went 35 and a tick, 59 flat for the five [furlongs] and galloped out three-quarters in [1:12]. The rider came back and said, ‘Dude, she’s ready.’”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the call on Ashima, who drew Post 7 in a field of 11 and is rated second on the morning line at odds of 7-2.

“She’s feeling good, she’s eating good, she’s happy [and] she’s in a good mood. She hasn’t bitten me recently,” Santoro said. “Everything is on go. We’re excited about it and looking forward to Saturday.”

The narrow 3-1 program favorite is Orlyana Farm’s 5-year-old Great Venezuela, who will be stretching out around two turns for just the second time and first since last year’s Filly & Mare Turf. The nine-time career winner got nearly three months off after being beaten a length as the favorite in the 5 ½-furlong Incredible Revenge turf sprint Aug. 3 at Monmouth Park, and most recently captured Gulfstream’s Islamorada overnight handicap Nov. 30.

Davis Racing’s 6-year-old Rugelach (Post 9, 9-2) made her first two career starts at Gulfstream for trainer Graham Motion in the spring of 2023, running second in maiden events on the grass at Tapeta. By that fall she was in Southern California where she remained until last August, when trainer Sam Wilensky claimed her, only to have the claim voided.

“The owners of the horse saw I was the one trying to claim her,” Wilensky said. “They called me and we came up with a little deal – they’re still involved on her – to bring her back to Florida since she is a Florida-bred and see what we can do.”

In her first start for Wilensky, Rugelach took a short lead into the stretch of a one-mile optional claiming allowance on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs, drifted slightly in deep stretch and wound up beaten a neck by Silver Moonlight Nov. 19. Silver Moonlight extended her win streak to three straight Dec. 21 at Gulfstream.

“She ran huge last time,” Wilensky said. “I believe we were a race short since her races were kind of spaced out a bit. If she didn’t chase such a lightning pace early, I think she’s a winner. But regardless it’s a nice comparison to have Silver Moonlight come back and do what she’s done. Now we step out against Florida-breds only, so that should be nice.”

Edwin Gonzalez gets the riding assignment from Post 9.

“The reason we brought her from California was to run her in the Florida-bred type group and hopefully get some black type, which I do expect from her,” Wilensky said. “[She’s a] super, super nice filly. I didn’t really expect the race to come up with so much speed outside of her. I thought we’d kind of have the lead in this race. I don’t know exactly how it’ll play out [but] she couldn’t be doing any better.”

Tag Stables homebred Spirited Boss (Post 6, 6-1) won the 7 ½-furlong Sanibel Island last March over the Gulfstream turf, then ran second in the one-mile Honey Rider and third in the 5 ½-furlong Soaring Softly, the latter moved to Saratoga’s main track. She made a triumphant return to racing by beating older horses in a 1 1/16-mile optional claiming allowance Dec. 20 on the grass at Tampa.

Live Oak Plantation is represented by homebreds Souper Zonda (Post 10, 6-1) and Souper Williwaw (Post 8, 8-1), who respectively ran fourth and fifth in Gulfstream’s 1 1/16-mile Tropical Park Oaks Dec. 13, separated by 1 ½ lengths. Also exiting that race is June 7 Martha Washington runner-up Miss Mary Nell (Post 3, 15-1).

Rounding out the field are Lady Cha Cha (Post 1, 20-1), Luz de La Luna (Post 2, 20-1), Volatiled (Post 4, 30-1) and Sapphire Girl (Post 5, 15-1).