G1 La Brea third for Emboldened

Emboldened ran well to finish third in the seven-furlong G1 La Brea Stakes on dirt at Santa Anita Park, USA, on Wednesday, December 26.
 
The homebred three-year-old Elusive Quality filly, trained by Bob Baffert and partnered by Joe Talamo, raced in seventh of the eight runners, a bit detached from the leading group of six.
 
But she made up ground on the inner from half-a-mile out and took fourth with three furlongs remaining.
 
Emboldened went into a narrow lead turning in before being headed soon after they straightened up, but she kept on well to just lose out on second as Spiced Perfection won by a length and a quarter from Hot Autumn in 1m 23.54s.
 
The Godolphin filly was another head back in third. It was Emboldened’s first run in a Graded Stakes on just her fourth outing.
 
Jimmy Bell, the Godolphin North America President, reported: “That was an excellent G1 effort and she was just beaten a head for second.
 
“Emboldened was very game and determined, showing a lot of class.
 
“Considering that she had not raced since May, it was no surprise that she was a little bit rusty and got tired towards the end.
 
“There is a lot to take forward from the performance and we are very encouraged.”