Qahira starts off 2021 with first stakes victory

Qahira got her first stakes win on Jan. 10 when the Bob Baffert trainee won the $75,000 Kalookan Queen S. at Santa Anita Park.

The lightly-race 5-year-old has won four of her last five starts, dating back to July 2019. She sports an excellent record of 5-1-0 in eight outings and has earned $205,400 for the Baoma Corporation.

Qahira was behind and between horses for the backstretch run. After a quarter-mile in :21.79, she moved three wide on the turn and surged to the front with a little more than a furlong to run. Amuse made a belated bid, but Qahira was comfortably in front, winning by a length in 1:16.05 for the 6 1/2-furlongs.

“It looked like she came out of there fine and it looked like those couple of horses (Acting Out and Mo See Cal) wanted to go ahead and go on with the speed, so I just sat right behind them a little bit and let her be happy with where she was. She ran really well,” said rider Joel Rosario. 

Bred in Kentucky by Nekia Farm and Hunter Valley Farm, Qahira sold to her owner for $375,000 at the 2018 OBS June Horses of Racing Age sale. Her dam Motel Lass has produced four stakes winners, including multiple graded winner A Shin J One.