Lady of Fifty could be Hollendorfer's next Kentucky Oaks filly
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Having a top notch three-year old filly is nothing new to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
Three times, Hollendorfer has gotten one of his ladies to the winners circle in the Kentucky Oaks. Such champions as Lite Light (1991), Pike Place Dancer (1996) and Blind Luck (2010) give the hall of famer credibility when it comes to some of the fillies he brings to the track.
While it may be too early to make comparisons to those three, Hollendorfer has a new lady making news and she is Lady of Fifty. The daughter of After Market out of K.D.’s Shady Lady, romped home a 3 ¼ length winner in the California Oaks last week. It was the latest test she has passed with flying colors.
After breaking her maiden in her career debut last July, she ran third in an allowance race three months later. Her next start was in the $50,000 Golden Gate Debutante Stakes, a race she went wire to wire, prevailing in the Six Furlong test by a nose over Power of Nine. In her next start, she went a mile for the first time in the $100,000 Corte Madera Stakes and again never trailed in beating Sweet Nothings (another Hollendorfer filly) by ½ length.
Then, in the Oaks, she went 1 1/16th of a mile in her third straight front running win.That’s three stakes wins in her last three races and she never trailed a horse in any of them. How good is she?
“She’s a nice filly,” said jockey Russell Baze after the win in the Oaks. “She’s got such a big long stride. She’s still learning. She hasn’t run her best race yet.
“And I think she’s pretty manageable,” he said. “You have to get after her a little cause she gets looking around but I think if someone went real hard at her, I could sit off of them. I don’t think she’s a one trick pony by any stretch.”
It looks like the bay area has seen the last of her for a while. After the race Hollendorfer admitted their was nothing around here for her now and he would be looking for bigger races in the upcoming months.
Albany Stakes Comes up Big
When the new stakes schedule came out for the current meet, January 28th was an open date. But soon after general manager Joe Morris and racing secretary David Jerkens announced they would add stakes when they could, along came the Albany.
The $50,000 race at six furlongs drew only six horses, but oh what a group it turned out to be. It’s so tough, the favorite may be a horse that hasn’t run in 8 months.
Gig Harbor was last seen winning the Alcatraz Stakes last May. It was his third win in four life time starts. His only loss was a third place finish in the Harry Henson Stakes at Hollywood Park. His works lately have screamed that he is ready to go with a 58.8 work for 5 furlongs (best of 82 workers that morning) just last week.
Rounding out the field are Live Sundays and Reagan Republican. Live Sundays has hit the board in 15 of 20 lifetime starts and tops the field in earnings with $247,520.
Berkeley Lab Passes on Albany Site
The Lawrence Berkeley Lab, which is looking to expand by developing a second campus, has decided not to purchase the site where Golden Gate Fields sits. Many race goers were upset when they learned that Frank Stronach put the site up for the bid and even more upset when Albany was chosen as one of the six finalists. But when the delayed decision came down earlier this week, the LBL powers that be chose to pass on the Albany site.
What does it mean for Bay Area racing?
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