Simply Joking Is All Business With Dominant Gate-To-Wire Win In The Grade III Santa Maria Stakes For Fillies And Mares Going 1 1/16 Miles Saturday At Santa Anita

SIMPLY JOKING IS ALL BUSINESS WITH DOMINANT GATE-TO-WIRE WIN IN THE GRADE III SANTA MARIA STAKES FOR FILLIES AND MARES GOING 1 1/16 MILES SATURDAY AT SANTA ANITA

ARCADIA, CA (April 19, 2026)—Simply Joking rolled to a dominant front-running win under Emisael Jaramillo Saturday in the Grade III, $100,000 Santa Maria Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita Park.

The 4-5 favorite trained by Michael McCarthy, Simply Joking outran second-choice Nafisa (6-5) for the lead and was never challenged on her way to a 6 ¾ length victory. It was the first win at the graded level for Simply Joking. Last year, the daughter of Practical Joke won the Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds when trained by Whit Beckman.

Simply Joking won in a time of 1:42.38 after setting fractions of 23.25, 46.65, 1:10.44 and 1:35.73. Lemon Muffin (5-1), ridden by Antonio Fresu for trainer Patrick Gallagher, finished third.

“To me it was a two-horse race,” Jaramillo said. “I decided if (Juan Hernandez on Nafisa) took the lead then I would just sit second. But my horse broke better and we went to the front. She was super comfortable all the way around.”

Simply Joking is owned by Berkels 0813, CMNWLTH, Grantley Acres and Ryan Conner. This was her fourth start for McCarthy, all coming in California. Last year, she finished second in the GIII Bayakoa at Del Mar and third in the GI La Brea at Santa Anita. In her only prior start this year, Simply Joking was fourth in the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile.

“She had trained super for this,” McCarthy said. “I just told Emisael to bounce out of there and try to keep her face clean and he did exactly that. I think we caught a little bit of a break when Juan decided not to engage. We found ourselves on an easy lead turning up the backside. This was good today; it gives us a lot of options.”

The Santa Maria is a prep for the GII Santa Margarita going 1 1/8 miles on May 30 at Santa Anita. McCarthy said he believes “seven-eighths to a mile and a sixteenth” are Simply Joking’s best distances but added nine furlongs could be within her reach.

“The way she ran today maybe a mile and an eighth even. We will take them as they come.”

Simply Joking paid $3.60 and $2.10. Nafisa, trained by Bob Baffert, paid $2.20.

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

GRADE III, SANTA MARIA STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

EMISAEL JARAMILLO, SIMPLY JOKING, WINNER: “To me it was a two-horse race. I decided if J.J. (Juan Hernandez on Nafisa) took the lead I would just sit second. But my horse broke better, so we went to the front. She was super comfortable all the way around.”

TRAINER QUOTES

MICHAEL MCCARTHY, SIMPLY JOKING, WINNER: “I thought we had a legitimate excuse last time. She had trained super for this, I just told Emisael to bounce out of there and try to keep her face clean and he did exactly that. I think we caught a little bit of a break when Juan (aboard Nafia) decided not to engage. We found ourselves on an easy lead turning up the backside. This was good today; it gives us a lot of options. I mean somewhere between seven-eighths to a mile and a sixteenth. The way she ran today maybe a mile and an eighth even, but we will take them as they come.”

NOTES: The winning owners are Berkels0813 LLC, CMNWLTH, LLC, Grantley Acres and Ryan Conner.