Om N Joy rallies from last under Desormeaux to upset the Grade II Santa Margarita Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on Saturday

OM N JOY RALLIES FROM LAST UNDER DESORMAUX TO UPSET THE GRADE II SANTA MARGARITA STAKES FOR FILLIES AND MARES GOING 1 1/8 MILES AT SANTA ANITA ON SATURDAY

It’s the second graded stakes win for the California-bred filly by Om, who is trained by Aggie Ordonez and campaigned by breeders and co-owners Jerry Baker and Connie Baker.

ARCADIA, CA (May 30, 2026)—Trainer Aggie Ordonez’s decision to wheel Om N Joy back just a week after a lackluster stakes try on turf paid big dividends Saturday at Santa Anita. With Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux in the irons, Om N Joy capitalized on a fast pace with a last-to-first rally to earn her second graded stakes win in the Grade II, $200,000 Santa Margarita Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles.

Simply Joking, the 9-5 second choice, grabbed the early lead under Emisael Jaramillo but was quickly engaged on her outside by 2-5 favorite Seismic Beauty and jockey Juan Hernandez. As Simply Joking set pressured fractions of 22.44, and 45.37 for the opening half mile, Desormeaux and Om N Joy (8-1) were content to sit back some eight or nine lengths off dueling leaders.

“I was like, ‘Go ahead, entertain each other and I’ll be back here,’ Desormeaux said.

Simply Joking continued to lead through six furlongs in 1:09.3. She had shaken clear of Seismic Beauty entering the stretch, but remaining to be dealt with was Om N Joy, who had launched her bid and was closing fast. Om N Joy roared by Simply Joking in the final furlong and won going away by 3 ¾ lengths.

“She just stayed in drive the whole time,” Desormeaux said. “She was telling me, ‘When do you want to go Kent? Just when do you want to go?’ At the apex of the turn, in the middle, I got to encouraging her. By the time we got head and head, I went to grab my stick and away it went. My riding crop is at the sixteenth pole. She was already passing them. She was fantastic.”

Om N Joy, a 4-year-old California-bred filly by Om, won in a time of 1:50.03. Her only previous graded stakes win came in last year’s GIII Torrey Pines going one mile at Del Mar. Last Saturday at Santa Anita, Om N Joy finished last as the second choice going one mile on turf in the Fran’s Valentine Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares.

“This is something that we talked about before we entered in the turf race,” Ordonez said. “This was the plan all along and I was very confident with this move. I had a lot of confidence in ‘Joy, and if there is anything that we have learned from ‘Joy, is ‘Joy does things on her time. She chose today to show up. It was a beautiful day to do it.”

Ordonez has operated a small stable since the mid-1990s, initially under her maiden name Aggie Anderson. Last year’s Torrey Pines and Saturday’s Santa Margarita are her only graded stakes victories.

Om N Joy paid $19.20 for the upset victory. She is campaigned by breeders Jerry Baker and Connie Baker along with partners Michael Golovko and Terrence J. Scanlan. Prior to last week’s failed turf experiment, Om N Joy this year was third in the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile in March at Santa Anita and fifth in last month’s GI Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park. She improved to 17: 6-0-5 with more than $615,000 in earnings. In addition to her pair of graded stakes tallies, Om N Joy has also won three stakes restricted to statebreds.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Santa Anita with a nine-race card starting at 1 p.m.

GRADE II, $200,000 SANTA MARGARITA STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

KENT DESORMEAUX, OM N JOY, WINNER: “This filly, she’s got ample speed, she’s gone .44 and change before and once that inside horse squeezed between the pair going under the wire the first time they really took off. So that was exciting for me, I was like, ‘Go ahead entertain each other and I’ll be back here.’ But ‘Joy, she just stayed in drive the whole time. She was telling me, ‘When do you want to go Kent? Just when do you want to go?’ At the apex of the turn. In the middle, I got to encouraging her. By the time we got head and head, I went to grab my stick and away it went. My riding crop is at the sixteenth pole. She was already passing them. She was fantastic. “

TRAINER QUOTES

AGGIE ORDONEZ, OM N JOY, WINNER:“This is something that we talked about before we entered in the turf race (Frans Valentine Stakes on May. 23). This was the plan all along, I was very confident with this move. I had a lot of confidence in ‘Joy, and if there is anything that we have learned from ‘Joy, is ‘Joy does things on her time. She chose today to show up. It was a beautiful day to do it.”

OWNER QUOTES

JERRY BAKER, OM N JOY, CO-BREEDER/CO-OWNER, WINNER: “I’m so excited. I am just amazed what a run she put in. You could see her back there start to move and she just went by. It was amazing, absolutely amazing. She just proved herself once again, she is really is something special, really special. What a joy.”

NOTES: The winning owners are Baker Stables, LLC, Michael Golovko, and Terrence J. Scanlan.