Saffie Joseph Jr. secured his first win at Santa Anita Monday when Mike Ryan’s Be Your Best (Ire) captured the GI Gamely Stakes with a commanding wire-to-wire performance. The Florida-based trainer immediately doubled his success when Skippylongstocking claimed victory in the GII Hollywood Gold Cup in the following race.
Be Your Best, sent off at 2-1 under Irad Ortiz Jr., seized the early lead and maintained control throughout, setting fractions of :22.99 and :46.15 while tracked by favored No Show Sammy Jo (GB). Ortiz unleashed the 5-year-old mare entering the far turn, quickly establishing a clear advantage as she completed three-quarters in 1:09.75.
The Rising Star graduate completed the nine furlongs in 1:46.26 — the fastest Gamely time since Lady Eli’s 1:45.29 in 2017 — while Lady Claypoole (Ire) and Liguria chased in vain.
“She is a very good filly and she showed it today,” Joseph said. “This is really big for us. We’ll see what the future brings for her.”
Ortiz noted that the race dynamics changed with the scratches of Alpha Bella and Where’s My Ring, both speed horses.
“When we had both scratches, they were both speed, so I talked to the trainer and he told me, ‘Ride your race, let her be heard,'” Ortiz explained. “I let her relax and let her be happy. When I turned for home, I still had something in the tank.”
Be Your Best, who earned ‘TDN Rising Star’ status following her debut victory at Saratoga in July 2022, had previously finished second in both the 2023 GI Del Mar Oaks and GI American Oaks. She closed 2024 with consecutive wins in the GIII Long Island Stakes and GIII Suwannee River Stakes before capturing the GII Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational to start 2025.
Her winning streak was interrupted by an eighth-place finish in the GI Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland last month, a performance Joseph attributed to unsuitable conditions.
“We knew she needed firm going on the turf and that is why we brought her out here,” Joseph said. “Her last race [in the Jenny Wiley] we got a lot of rain and she didn’t like it.”
The victory marks Be Your Best’s first Grade I win and pushes her career earnings to $1,086,559 with a record of 6-3-2 from 20 starts.
Be Your Best represents the third top-level winner for her sire, Muhaarar (GB), joining G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi (Ire) and G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes winner Eshaada (GB). Muhaarar himself was a four-time Group 1 winner in 2015.
The unraced Kamakura, dam of Be Your Best, has a yearling filly by Baaeed (GB) and was bred back to Cody’s Wish last year. The mare was acquired by Mike Ryan’s St Croix Bloodstock from Godolphin as a 3-year-old for 150,000gns at the 2016 Tattersalls July sale.
🔥 #8 BE YOUR BEST ($6.20) gives @SaffieJosephJr his first @SantaAnitaPark win with a dominant performance in the $300,000 Gamely Stakes (G1). The five-year-old Muhaarar mare was piloted by @iradortiz. pic.twitter.com/DZFUWZjO5j
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing)
🔥 #8 BE YOUR BEST ($6.20) gives May 26, 2025
