In Profile: Sweet Azteca

By Peter Fornatale 

For all her talent, Sweet Azteca has clearly not been easy to train. Unraced as a juvenile, and off the track for eight months following her debut victory in May of 2023, she finally got some career momentum going last year and looks to have taken that form into this year too.

Defeated on her second lifetime start, and first of 2024, in Grade 3 company off a break, Sweet Azteca was dropped back to Optional Claiming company for her third run and made no mistake, romping home by 12 lengths in confidence-boosting fashion.

Following that effort, she returned to Stakes company, this time in the Grade 1 Beholder. Despite her inexperience, Sweet Azteca was to the forefront of the betting and the market got it right. Soon in the lead, the daughter of Sharp Azteca made all of the running to land the spoils and announce her arrival as a top-class mare.

She went from strength to strength following that victory, winning her next start at Los Alamitos in the Great Lady M Stakes by a wide margin, running a 106 Beyer and breaking the track record in the process. Another romp followed, as she gave weight and a comprehensive beating to inferior rivals in the Rancho Bernardo Handicap next time out, hitting a third consecutive century Beyer in the process.

The Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes should have been a formality prior to a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup, but Sweet Azteca broke the hearts of those who had waded in at odds of 1/10, headed two furlongs out and weakening quickly. A trip to Del Mar was ruled out, and the super mare wasn’t seen again until July of this year.

Moving from Mike McCarthy to Richard Baltas in the interim, she returned attempting to defend her Great Lady M Stakes crown and did so in fine style. On the pace as she had the previous year, she went through similar fractions and was never really threatened at any stage despite swinging very wide off the home bend. She wasn’t quite as impressive as she had been in 2024, but still won with a fair chunk in hand and a 102 Beyer, off a break, suggested she retained all of her ability.

Sweet Azteca has run once since, recording another back-to-back win as she once again landed the Rancho Bernardo Handicap in facile fashion having chased some furious sectionals.

Connections have decided to keep Sweet Azteca fresh for the Breeders’ Cup this time out and that looks like the right move. She has generally run very well with time between her races and she comes into this year’s Filly & Mare Sprint off the same sort of break that she had when running her career-best Beyer.

This mare looks a super talented performer and there is every chance that she will extend her unbeaten record at Del Mar this November. If she does, it’ll be just reward for the perseverance and patience of her connections.

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