Not This Time’s Princess Noor turned in another spectacular performance in Saturday’s $200,000 Chandelier S. (G1), rolling to an 8 1/4-length victory in her two-turn debut.
Now undefeated in three starts for Zedan Racing Stables Inc. and trainer Bob Baffert, the brilliant filly previously won the Del Mar Debutante (G1) by 6 ½-lengths and has earned $303,000.
Saturday’s win also secured the dark bay filly a spot in the starting gate for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) next month at Keeneland.
Breaking from the inside post in the field of five, Princess Noor got in a bit of traffic trouble going into the first turn and took back to fourth, but only a couple lengths from the leader Illumination. Just after the mid-way point, jockey Victor Espinoza took Princess Noor off the rail and easily took command on the turn. Under a hand ride the rest of the way, she was eased up the final sixteenth when the outcome was clear.
“When you are in the one hole, they usually don’t break as well, but I think Victor rode her with a lot of confidence,” Baffert said. “He’s been on enough good horses and he knows. This filly is just incredible and very talented. I don’t train her as hard and I run her into shape. You never know if they can go two turns until they do and it looks like that=s not going to be a problem.”
“She reminds me of other great horses I used to ride like American Pharoah and California Chrome,” added Espinoza. “I’ve been riding amazing horses, but as a filly, she’s the best one I’ve ever ridden.”
Princess Noor was bred in Kentucky by International Equities Holding Inc. and is out of the Grade 3 winner Sheza Smoke Show.
Pedigree Notes from the TDN
Not This Time, a son of Giant’s Causeway, leads the First-Crop sire list by individual winners with 11 and has two undefeated stakes winners in Princess Noor and Dirty Dangle, who won last week’s Woodbine Cares S., plus the Grade III-placed Hopeful Princess. Princess Noor made headlines before she even ran as Not This Time’s most expensive sales horse to date when she brought $1.35 million at OBS this spring, but Not This Time hasn’t done badly in this curtailed yearling sales season either, with 32 sold this year in North America for an average of $135,504 on a $15,000 stud fee. Princess Noor was previously a $135,000 KEESEP yearling.
