Carina Mia earns well-deserved victory in Shine Again S.

Though she didn’t get the best trip, Malibu Moon’s Carina Mia showed her class to take the $100,000 Shine Again S. Wednesday at Saratoga.

The win was the fourth stakes victory for the 4-year-old filly, who has racked up $1,193,520 in earnings for owner Three Chimneys Farm from wins in the Acorn S. (G1), Eight Belles S. (G2) and Golden Rod S. (G2).

The going looked pretty easy for Carina Mia in the first half-mile, as she sat comfortably behind a pair of fillies vying for the lead. Entering the stretch, however, she was boxed in on all sides, but bulled her way between horses with a furlong to run to emerge with the lead.

Her stablemate, the Grade 1-placed Going for Broke, gave chase along the inside, but Carina Mia held her off by a neck, finishing the seven furlongs in 1:22.23.

“She [Carina Mia] came over to me in pretty good shape about a month ago,” trainer Chad Brown said of the filly who was making her first start in his care. “She had been working well with our barn and 7/8ths (of a mile) seems to be a really good distance for her. As for what we’re going to do next with her, I’m going to discuss with the owner, Mr. Torrealba [of Three Chimneys Farm].”

Carina Mia was bred by Spendthrift Farm and is out of Miss Simpatia (ARG) and is a half-sister to Santa Margarita Inv. (G1) winner Miss Match (ARG).

Placed in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff earlier this year, Carina Mia is Malibu Moon’s eighth North American stakes winner this year. Like fellow Spendthrift stallion Into Mischief, Malibu Moon has 108 total winners in 2017, tying them for fifth on the General Sire list.