Hollywood Park recap (June 1st)

Hollywood Park race recap (Sunday, June 1, 2008)

Race 1: Overwhelming fav Tybalt had a few small things go wrong in the early stages, but nothing of consequence. He ranged up turning for home but failed to kick away and was worn down by his stablemate Heroi Do Bafra, who had a bad case of seconditis coming in. The former should have won his 2nd US outing.

Race 2: Sweet Roseman was dropping from $25k to $12.5 2nd off the Monteleone. He won that $25k event, and he won this as the rider (Espinoza) pleased at underlaid odds. My top Cupid’s Kitty found traffic in the lane and missed 2nd by a head and a nose.

Race 3: Kilderry was clearly best as expected. The three-year-old gelding was a gutsy $100k claim (Mike Mitchell) on April 4th. Since then, he has switched to the turf with two wins and a second to his credit. The sophomore turf stakes ranks are just around the corner for this guy.

Race 4: Racing experience paid off in the maiden sprint for two-year-old fillies. Malucita was out of a productive race in which the the place and show finishers both returned to score. The cold Sal Gonzalez got healthy in a hurry with this $16.60 wire job. As I stated before, Campos is a competent apprentice rider. McAnally firster Turtle Creek Babe, a $120k Keeneland sales grad, rallied from last to pick up the place. Barn was 1-54 with debut straight maidens coming in, and this filly should improve with racing.

Race 5: It looked as if Frankelstein might pull off an expected wire job, but Sorta Gold was always traveling well under Rosario and got the job done by less than a length. I was on the winner in ‘06 and early ‘07, but he had tailed off in five starts before today’s win. He did show signs of life when dropping into a claimer on May 9th.

Race 6: Rainbow’s Song was my strong 2nd choice based on her good looking course/distance bow. She won that race despite a lack of pace, and her trainer Paddy Gallagher was 25% with his graduates trying winners for the initial time. The Mig booted her home once again, and he is 5 for his last 7 with this outfit. Saracina was my top because I thought she might shake loose early, but she lugged out early and bore out in the lane…ugly effort!

Race 7: Tap It Light got the job done for me at $15.80. She was exiting an above par nostril defeat on synthetic, and she proved her turf abilities with a Feb. ‘07 tally. She sat her expected stalking trip and held on by a 1/2. The next four finishers in this claiming turf route were bunched up at the line.

Race 8: Bejarano/Mitchell teamed up for 2nd win on the day with Big Booster, who was better than these on paper…and in the real running. The lack of pace was meaningless as he rolled on by his three rivals to post an easy two length tally in this early BC artificial Dirt Marathon prep. Graham Motion was testing the SoCal synthetic waters with Jade’s Revenge, and she held the place by a nose in a solid effort.

Race 9: Mandella had British Medium ready to fly off a 4+ month hiatus. She was last seen landing the show as the fav down the dip at Santa Anita. Valdivia, who rode her in her Dec. ‘07 bow, was the pilot of choice today. Interestingly, Espinoza rode her last time, and he does business with Mandella, but he ended up on my top Blaze N Waggin. The Zucker trainee was never a factor in 7th. Overbet fav Premium Quality landed the place, and the once excellent Jenine Sahadi has forgotten how to win.

Mike Mitchell Photo Credit: Newscom