Paradise Woods

Paradise Woods made her career debut in January of her 3-year-old season and finished a promising second in a sprint race at Santa Anita Park. She returned at Santa Anita in March 2017 for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and won by 4 1/4 lengths in a visually impressive performance going 5 1/2 furlongs. Somewhat overlooked by the betting public in the Santa Anita Oaks, Paradise Woods delivered a statement performance, surging to a commanding lead in the stretch and drawing clear to a runaway victory. The Santa Anita Oaks win was the third for Mandella and first since Beholder in 2013.

Paradise Woods disappointed in the Kentucky Oaks as the 6-5 favorite on a sloppy track, fading badly to finish 11th. Given an extended break, she still did not look like herself when returning in August at Del Mar, where she again faded to finish sixth in a seven-horse field. Mandella got her back on track in September when she led from start to finish in an eye-catching runaway victory in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes, a Challenge Series "Win and You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

In the Distaff, Paradise Woods ran well to finish a credible third behind older mare Forever Unbridled and Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman.

She then matched up against elite sprinter Unique Bella in the Grade 1, seven-furlong La Brea Stakes on Santa Anita’s opening-day Dec. 26 card, and battled gamely to finish second behind that foe in her final 2017 start.

Paradise Woods was winless in three starts in 2018 and her first two starts in 2019, finishing third twice in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile Stakes during the losing streak. She regained her winning stride in her third start of 2019, pressing the pace in the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Invitational Stakes on April 27 and then pulling away to win by 10 1/2 lengths. She stumbled at the start of the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes in her next start but rallied to finish a troubled second as the overwhelming favorite, and then checked in a disappointing fourth in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar.

Paradise Woods faced the three horses that finished in front of her in the Clement Hirsch – Ollie’s Candy, Secret Spice, and La Force – in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Sept. 29. With Abel Cedillo in the irons, she stalked the pace set by Secret Spice and drew clear in deep stretch to win by 1 ¾ lengths over that foe, earning a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Nov. 2 Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Santa Anita.

Paradise Woods is owned by a partnership of breeder Herman Sarkowsky, one of Mandella's longest clients, and Mary and Pam Wygod.