Hoop of Colour sauntered to a half-length score in the Grade 2, $201,000 Santa Ana S. Sunday at Santa Anita Park. She is the 55th lifetime graded stakes winner for Distorted Humor and pushed his cumulative progeny earnings past the $108 million mark, fourth-most of all active North American sires.
Trained by Graham motion, Hoop of Colour was being considered for an allowance race, but her recent training had gone so well that Motion decided to pay the supplemental fee to run in the Santa Ana.
“I was going to wait for the mile-and-a-quarter race next month,” Motion said, referring to the $150,000 Santa Barbara H. (G3) next month.
And after the way she performed on Sunday, Motion made the right decision for the stakes debut for the Flaxman Holdings homebred. Drayden Van Dyke got the filly in an ideal spot in third along the rail in the first furlong and held that spot for the backstretch run.
Entering the final turn, Van Dyke swung into the three path for clear run on the leaders. Hoop of Colour accelerated nicely to come on even terms with Three Hearts with a furlong to go, then showed another burst to edge clear late.
The final time for the 1 1/8-miles on the firm turf was 1:49.08.
“Drayden won on her first time here (allowance race on Feb. 5) and she’s been training great since then,” said Motion’s assistant Alice Clapham. “This race kind of came up so we thought we’d just take a shot, and it worked out well.
“I’m sure Graham will talk to the owners and sort that out (her next start). We might run her back here in (the Santa Barbara), or she might go to Keeneland.”
Hoop of Colour comes from a very strong female family as well. Her dam Surya was a two-time graded stakes winner of $400,971; he foals include Grade 1 Spinster S. winner Aruna, who banked just shy of $1 million.
Hoop of Colour was a two-time winner in Great Britain before joining Motion’s barn last fall. She is now 4-1-0 in six starts and has earned $173,751.
