Fi FI Pharoah takes out Melair Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday
Fi Fi Pharoah (3 f ex My Fiona by Ghostzapper) won Saturday's Melair Stakes (Listed, 8.5f) at Santa Anita to provide her Coolmore Australia shuttle sire American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) with his 17th stakes winner.
From the gates, Fi Fi Pharoah raced at the rear of the seven runners with the field led along by Mucha Woman (Empire Way). Moved up approaching the home turn, Fi Fi Pharoah went wide and ran on in the straight to pull clear in the closing stages and record a half length victory over Eddie's New Dream (Square Eddie). I'm So Anna (Fast Anna) was another two and a half lengths back in third.
A homebred for Californian breeder Terry Lovingier, Fi Fi Pharoah is the best of two winners out of the stakes-winning mare My Fiona (Ghostzapper).
"I didn't think we would get beat this time," said winning trainer Walther Solis.
"She just ran from the three-eighths, she knows when she has to speed up. When she got in front, she started waiting for everybody. She's a classy filly. I knew the filly was coming in 100 per cent. I told Terry, 'We got the filly'."
American Pharoah returns to Coolmore Australia for a fifth time this spring. His 17 stakes winners include three Group / Grade 1 winners in Harvey's Lil Goil, Cafe Pharoah and Van Gogh while his first Australian crop has produced three winners to date.
