If the connections to Santa Anita Oaks (G2) winner Meaning look familiar, it's because the same group triumphed a year ago in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) with Journalism. The connections turned to Santa Anita Park with a filly this time, one who has marched up the ladder with a professionalism that should serve her well in the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
Seven 3-year-old fillies broke from the gate in the April 4 Santa Anita Oaks, with Bob Baffert-trained French Blue going to the front. Baffert's other runner, Forced Entry, got away slowly, and jockey Mike Smith pulled her up before the first turn.
Meaning settled into fourth under jockey Juan Hernandez, as French Blue traveled the first quarter-mile in :22.88 and a half in :46.55. Meaning angled out at the five-sixteenths pole, and Brooklyn Blonde made a move around leaders French Blue and Red Cherry to poke her head in front between calls around the second turn.
Once Meaning found clear running on the outside, she ranged up alongside of Brooklyn Blonde to challenge. Those two battled briefly in upper stretch before Meaning, the 9-10 favorite, went on to score a 2-length victory in 1:43.99 for 1 1/16 miles. Brooklyn Blonde finished second, 13 3/4 lengths ahead of third-place Bank Shot.
Forced Entry came back under her own power after being unsaddled and accompanied by an outrider.
"She broke really well, but she must have hit herself leaving the gate," Smith said of Forced Entry. "She was real choppy and didn't feel comfortable. I would rather not take any chances, so I wanted to pull her up."
Added Baffert: "We checked her out and she seemed fine. She must have hit herself leaving the gate."
Michael McCarthy, who also conditions Journalism, trains Meaning for owners Bridlewood Farm and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, two of Journalism's primary owners. Aron Wellman, Eclipse's president and founder, noted that while Meaning had to alter course midway through the race, it didn't stop her onslaught.
"It got a little tight," Wellman said. "The three just kind of stopped in front of her, and J.J. had to check and go around. It wasn't overly dramatic. Once he got her out in the clear, she took care of business from there on."
Meaning has impressed her connections from the very beginning, being a daughter of Gun Runner out of the Into Mischief mare Figure of Speech.
"With fillies especially, it's about trying to pick up on nuances—intelligence, class," Wellman said. "She had all of that at the yearling sale."
Bred by Stonehaven Steadings in Kentucky and sold for $440,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Meaning last year broke her maiden in her debut and finished fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) in only her second start. She is now 2-for-2 in 2026, having first captured the Feb. 8 Las Virgenes Stakes. Meaning earned 100 qualifying Kentucky Oaks points in the Santa Anita Oaks, which also offered 50, 25, 15, and 10 points for second through fifth.
Video: Santa Anita Oaks presented by Surfside (G2)
Spirited Boss Upsets Monrovia Stakes
Later on the card, the Florida-based Spirited Boss shocked favorite Queen Maxima in the Monrovia Stakes (G3T).
Trained by Jose D'Angelo, Spirited Boss broke cleanly under jockey Mike Smith but trailed the field while Amorita posted fractions of :21.94, :44.45, and 1:06.21. She saved ground along the rail as the field moved down the hill. The fillies and mares crossed over the dirt and moved into the stretch, and Spirited Boss was well within striking range. Set under a drive in the final sixteenth, she came head to head with the leader and edged clear to win by three-quarters of a length on the wire. Amorita held second while Queen Maxima settled for third.
The daughter of Street Boss completed the 6 1/2 furlongs on the firm downhill turf in a final time of 1:12. She paid $38 for a $2 wager, and earned her first graded stakes win on her first trip to California.
