Be Your Best Comes West And Bags 1st Grade I Win In Monday’s $300,000 Gamely Stakes For Fillies And Mares Going 1 1/8 Miles At Santa Anita

BE YOUR BEST COMES WEST AND BAGS 1ST GRADE I WIN IN MONDAY’S $300,000 GAMELY STAKES FOR FILLIES AND MARES GOING 1 1/8 MILES AT SANTA ANITA

ARCADIA, CA (May 26, 2025)— It was a successful raiding party for eastern-based Be Your Best as the 5-year-old Irish-bred mare went straight to the lead under Irad Oritz Jr. and was never headed on her way to earning a first Grade I win in the $300,000 Gamely Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita.

Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Be Your Best (2-1) raced alone on the lead while being tracked by 9-5 favorite No Show Sammy Jo, who is trained by Graham Motion and also shipped in from the east. Be Your Best set sharp opening fractions of 22.99, 46.15 and 1:09.75 for six furlongs. On the second turn, Be Your Best pulled away from a weakening No Show Sammy Jo and there was no real serious threat oncoming. Be Your Best reached the eighth pole in 1:33.58 with a 4 ½-length advantage and then cruised under the wire to win by 2 ¾ lengths.

Lady Claypoole (8-1), ridden by Tiago Pereira for trainer Richard Baltas, rallied to be second by a half-length over Liguria (9-1). The field was reduced by two earlier in the day when both Alpha Bella, who ran in Sunday’s GII Santa Margarita, and Where’s My Ring were scratched.

Be Your Best’s winning time of 1:46.26 is the fastest posted in the Gamely since Lady Eli, who was also ridden by Ortiz, won in 1:45.29 in 2017. Owned by Michael J. Ryan, Be Your Best won the GII Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf in January at Gulfstream and most recently was a disappointing eighth in the GI Jenny Wiley at Keenland on April 12.

“When we had both scratches, they were both speed (horses), so I talked to the trainer and he told me, ‘Ride your race, let her be heard,” Ortiz said. “Last time the ground was too soft. I thought she would like this ground more today. It’s more like Gulfstream’s firm turf. I let her relax and let her be happy. When I turned for home, I still had something in the tank.”

For Joseph, who is based in South Florida, this was his first-ever win at Santa Anita.

“We knew she needed firm going on the turf and that is why we brought her out here,” Joseph said by phone. “Her last race we got a lot of rain and she didn’t like it. She is a very good filly and she showed it today. This is really big for us. We’ll see what the future brings for her.”

A daughter of Muhaarar, Be Your Best improved to 20: 6-3-2 and pushed her earnings to $1,086,559.

Be Your Best paid $6.20, $3.80 and $3.00. Lady Claypoole returned $8.20 and $4.60. Liguria, with Umberto Rispoli aboard for trainer Michael McCarthy, paid $5.00.