Malibu Moon’s More Chocolate gets first SW in G2 La Canada

Malibu Moon got his second graded stakes winner of 2013 on Jan. 20 at Santa Anita Park when More Chocolate, with Garrett Gomez in the irons, rolled to a 1 ¾ length victory in the $150,000 La Canada S. (G2) for 4-year-old fillies.

More Chocolate got away alertly in the La Canada, just a length off the lead while three wide around the first turn. She inched closer down the backstretch, then took over the top spot about three furlongs from the finish. Never seriously threatened in the lane, More Chocolate got the mile and a sixteenth in 1:42.59.

“She was relaxed going into the first turn then she jumped up in the bridle on me,” said Gomez. “I didn’t want to get into a wrestling match with her so I let her be. She settled into a good rhythm going down the backside. I haven’t had a horse turn for home like she did for me in a long time.”

“We wanted to try her on the dirt,” said winning trainer John Sadler, referring to the filly’s first lifetime start on the main track. “It’s the last chance to run her with her own age group. We thought we might be back a little further, but with a 48 (second) half (mile), I felt good with where we were sitting. We’re going to look at the Santa Margarita (Grade 1, $300,000 at 1 1/8 miles for older fillies and mares on March 16), that’s for sure.”

Owned by Michael Talla, More Chocolate, a Kentucky-bred filly out of the multiple graded stakes winning mare Little Treasure (FR), improved her record to 8-3-1-1 and with the winner’s share of $90,000 nearly doubled her earnings to $182,790.

More Chocolate was a $310,000 purchase at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton Florida sale, one of the top 20 prices paid at the auction.