Mrs. Astor Gets Up Just In Time Under Rispoli To Win A Thrilling Edition Of The Astra Stakes For Older Fillies And Mares Going 1 ½ Miles On Turf Monday At Santa Anita

MRS. ASTOR GETS UP JUST IN TIME UNDER RISPOLI TO WIN A THRILLING EDITION OF THE ASTRA STAKES FOR OLDER FILLIES AND MARES GOING 1 ½ MILES ON TURF MONDAY AT SANTA ANITA

ARCADIA, CA (Jan. 19, 2026)—In an absolute thriller, odds-on favorite Mrs. Astor bravely shot through a tight opening between horses in the stretch and got up just in time to earn a nose victory in Monday’s $100,000 Astra Stakes for older fillies and mares going 1 ½ miles on turf at Santa Anita.

Mrs. Astor, the heavy 1-5 favorite, and jockey Umberto Rispoli were last throughout the marathon journey until the final furlong. At that point, Thebestisyettobe--the 7-2 second choice ridden by Kazushi Kimura--had already gotten the jump on Mrs. Astor and used an outside move to grab the lead in deep stretch. But Mrs. Astor, with a wall of three horses lined up in front of her, found a narrow seam she slipped through and then accelerated to the wire to nail Thebestisyettobe on the wire.

“It’s a tricky race when it’s a five-horse field. Obviously, they look to trap the favorite in and that’s normal, that’s part of the game. Nobody wants to give you an easy win,” Rispoli said. “Honestly, I was thinking that I could get between Ima Joker and Thebestisyettobe just coming out of the turn. But (Thebestisyettobe) took off again and I was lucky there was nice opening. She was just brave enough, like she was at Del Mar. She is just a great filly.”

The Astra was the sixth stakes win for Mrs. Astor, a 6-year-old mare by Lookin At Lucky trained by Jonathan Thomas for owner-breeder Augustin Stable. In her most recent start in the GIII Red Carpet Del Mar on Nov. 23, Mrs. Astor also used one final late to surge to prevail, that time by a neck.

“Umberto is exactly right when you are in a five-horse field with a target on your back, it’s very difficult to get the trip you want but she’s very intelligent.” Thomas said. “We didn’t train that in her we are just lucky to train her. She is remarkable in her consistency.”

Runner-up Thebestisyettobe, trained by Phil D’Amato, finished 1 ½-lengths clear of third-place finisher Sakura Blossom (18-1). The final time was 2:27.46 following fractions of 24.55, 48.59, 1:13.45, 1:39.79 and 2:03.76.

Mrs. Astor improved to 22: 8-5-4 with more than $625,000 in earnings. Last year, Mrs. Astor in addition to the Red Carpet won three stakes at Santa Anita—the GIII Robert J. Frankel, Possibly Perfect and Santa Barbara. She also won the Red Carpet in 2024.

Mrs. Astor paid $2.60, $2.10 and $2.10. Thebestisyettobe returned $2.60 and $2.40. Sakura Blossom, ridden by Armando Ayuso for trainer Leonard Powell, paid $3.60.

Live racing resumes Friday at Santa Anita with an eight-race card starting at 12:30 p.m. PT.

$100,000 ASTRA STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

UMBERTO RISPOLI, MRS. ASTOR, WINNER: “It’s a tricky race when it’s a five-horse field. Obviously they look to trap the favorite in and that’s normal, that’s part of the game. Nobody wants to give you an easy win. Honestly, I was thinking that I could get between Ima Joker and Thebestisyettobe just coming out of the turn. But (Thebestisyettobe) took off again and I was lucky there was nice opening. She was just brave enough, like she was at Del Mar. She is just a great filly. Congratulations to Jonathan, he does an amazing job with her. She’s always on top of her game and we knew she was doing even better during Del Mar. All the congratulations to the filly and not me, definitely."

TRAINER QUOTES

JONATHAN THOMAS, MRS. ASTOR, WINNER: “Umberto is exactly right when you are in a five-horse field with a target on your back, it’s very difficult to get the trip you want but she’s very intelligent. We didn’t train that in her we are just lucky to train her. She is remarkable in her consistency.”

NOTES: The winning owner and breeder is Augustin Stables.