Fighting Mad was allowed to set her own pace in the first half of Sunday’s Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita. That was the last chance her four rivals had of catching the pacesetter. Fighting Mad ($22.20) was not threatened through the stretch and won the most prestigious race of her career without a strenuous effort. Ridden by Abel Cedillo, Fighting Mad finished 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.12 and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 102. “She broke like a rocket,” Cedillo said. “I tried to get her to slow down. She did it on her own. “In the stretch, she did it easy.” :: Want to get your Past Performances for free? Click to learn more. The $200,000 Santa Maria was Cedillo’s third graded stakes win in the last week. He won Monday’s Grade 1 Gamely Stakes with Keeper Ofthe Stars and Saturday’s Grade 3 Honeymoon Stakes with Laura’s Light. Cedillo rode Fighting Mad for the first time in the Santa Maria. Fighting Mad, the fourth choice in a field of five, outfinished 5-2 Hard Not to Love and 3-5 Ce Ce, who dominated the betting. Hard Not to Love, winner of two graded stakes for sprinters in the winter, was difficult for jockey Mike Smith to handle in the minutes before the start, refusing to gallop toward the starting gate. An assistant starter and an outrider aided Smith in guiding Hard Not to Love to the gate after a delay. Fighting Mad set early fractions of 23.25 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.49 for a half-mile, leading by two lengths. Fighting Mad led by three lengths with a furlong remaining and won by 3 1/4 lengths. Hard Not to Love was last early, but closed steadily through the stretch to finished second, 2 1/4 lengths clear of Ce Ce, who was well-placed on the turn but was not a threat in the stretch. Kaydetre, who won an optional claimer on May 25, completed the order of finish. Horologist was pulled up and was walked off the track. Fighting Mad, a 4-year-old filly by New Year’s Day, has won 4 of 7 starts and earned $294,008. Aside from her first win in a Grade 2, the Santa Maria was Fighting Mad’s richest race. Fighting Mad is owned by breeders Gary and Mary West and trained by Bob Baffert. Last summer, Fighting Mad won the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes at a mile for 3-year-old fillies at Del Mar in what turned out to be her final start of the year. In her 2020 debut, Fighting Mad finished third in the Grade 3 Desert Stormer Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs on May 17 at Santa Anita, but was disqualified and placed fourth for causing interference in the stretch.