Nyquist’s Tenma Gets it Done in Santa Anita Oaks

[Wandering Eyes]

Heavily favored Tenma (Nyquist) solidified her status as the West Coast's leading GI Kentucky Oaks contender with an easy victory in the GII Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita Oaks Saturday in Arcadia. Sent off at 1-5 in her first start since a romping win in the Feb. 2 GIII Las Virgenes Stakes, the dark bay filly was away well and was taken in hand to sit a stalking trip as stablemate Silent Law (Tiz the Law) exchanged blows with No Bad Beats (Midnight Storm) through an opening quarter in :22.85 before taking a clear lead as the half went up in :46.38. Vodka with a Twist (Thousand Words) moved to challenge the pacesetter into the far turn with Tenma a menacing presence just to her outside with a three-wide rally of her own. Tenma took a slim lead at the top of the lane and, while Silent Law boxed on gamely, the favorite proved too much, skipping away late to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Vodka With a Twist, who was making her first start since finishing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last November, was another six lengths back in third.

“I was having a beautiful trip, and I asked her to run at the three-eighths pole because she was getting a little lazy on me,” said winning jockey Juan Hernandez. “But that's the way she is, she takes a couple strides to get going. Around the turn, when I was ready to start making my move and pass Silent Law, she was really brave.”

Trainer Bob Baffert said he was pleased with the progress the winner has made with each start.

“We are trying to get her to the Kentucky Oaks and she had been progressing, getting better and better,” Baffert said of the winner. “I liked the way she settled today. There was a lot of speed in the race. She is becoming more professional as we go. She has come a long way and she is great to be around. She is a lovely filly. It's pretty exciting to run one-two in a stake like this.”

Of Silent Law, who was making her first start beyond seven furlongs, Baffert added, “I wanted to stretch her out and it was the only opportunity I'd get. We were experimenting to see how she handled it, and she handled it really well. It is nice when it all works out.”

Tenma, a debut winner at Del Mar last August, just nosed out Vodka With a Twist to win the GI Del Mar Debutante in her second start. She suffered her first loss when third in the GII Oak Leaf Stakes in October, but came back to end her juvenile campaign with a win in the Dec. 7 GII Starlet Stakes in December. She opened her sophomore campaign with a 6 1/2-length score in the Las Virgenes.

“She just didn't run in the Oak Leaf. It was a dud,” Baffert said. “She struggled that day, just not mentally ready. I backed off of her after that, freshened her, and she's been ready to go.”

Pedigree Notes:

Breeder Bobby Flay purchased Amagansett as a yearling for $875,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. The unraced mare sold in foal to Not This Time for $400,000 to Kimura Hidenori Co at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton November sale. She has a 2-year-old colt by Munnings who RNA'd for $325,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Amagansett's multiple group-placed dam Twirl is a full-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Misty for Me (Ire), who produced multiple Group 1 winners U S Navy Flag (War Front) and Roly Poly (War Front). She is also a full-sister to multiple Group 1-placed Ballydoyle (Ire).

#4 TENMA ($2.60) earns 75 Kentucky Oaks points with a victory over stablemate Silent Law in the $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G2) at @SantaAnitaPark. The three-year-old filly by @DarleyAmerica's Nyquist is now 5-for-6. @JJHernandezS19 was aboard for Bob Baffert. pic.twitter.com/mC37vhZpgo

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) April 5, 2025

Saturday, Santa Anita
FASIG-TIPTON SANTA ANITA OAKS-GII, $200,000, Santa Anita, 4-5, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:46.15, ft.
1–TENMA, 124, f, 3, by Nyquist
            1st Dam: Amagansett, by Tapit
            2nd Dam: Twirl (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
            3rd Dam: Butterfly Cove, by Storm Cat
($200,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $850,000 2yo '24 OBSAPR).
O-Baoma Corp; B-B Flay Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Bob Baffert;
J-Juan J. Hernandez. $120,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-5-0-1,
$549,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Silent Law, 124, f, 3, Tiz the Law–Southern Silence, by Dixie
Union. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($80,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP;
$190,000 RNA 2yo '24 OBSAPR; $400,000 2yo '24 OBSOPN).
O-CSLR Racing Partners LLC; B-Newstead Corp (KY); T-Bob
Baffert. $40,000.
3–Vodka With a Twist, 124, f, 3, Thousand Words–Bourbon and
a Kiss, by Sky Mesa. ($2,500 Ylg '23 FTKOCT; $90,000 RNA 2yo
'24 KEEAPR). O-BlackRidge Stables LLC, Medallion Racing,
Schwing Thoroughbreds, Omar Aldabbagh and William Strauss;
B-Pillar Property Services Inc (KY); T-Philip D'Amato. $24,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 6, 6HF. Odds: 0.30, 9.70, 5.50.
Also Ran: Madame Secretary, No Bad Beats. Scratched: Look Forward.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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