Bay blitz at Santa Anita

Equiano flyer Belvoir Bay streeted a strong field of two year-olds by 7 lengths in the LR Blue Norther Stakes (1600m) at Santa Anita on Sunday.

The British import is the first USA stakes winner by Swettenham Stud’s Group 1 shuttler Equiano (Fr). He had gone close to a black-type breakthrough in September when Lola Beaux was runner-up in the G3 Commonwealth Oaks (1800m) at Laurel.

Belvoir Bay (2f Equiano – Path of Peace by Rock of Gibraltar) scored by daylight on turf from Family Meeting who was coming off a win in the G3 Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar.

She won at Windsor and Goodwood before changing hands and crossing the Atlantic in September for new owners Team Valour. “I worked her on dirt and she trained okay but nothing that led me to believe she could do that,” trainer Peter Miller said after the runaway. “She will remain on turf from now on.”

Belvoir Bay had been a 20,000gns (AUD 38,845) buy at the 2014 Tattersalls yearling sale and is from a half-sister to Royal Applause filly Please Sing who won the 2008 G2 Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket.

Equiano is a grandson of Royal Applause and is a Top 10 stallion on the Australian second-season premiership with 12 individual winners of $346,823 this season.