No catching Super Majesty in the Dogwood
Stunned as the overwhlming favorite last time at odds of 3-10, the highly regarded Super Majesty went a long way to restoring her lost luster with a sharp front running victory under the lights tonight at Churchill Downs. In both her first start outside of Southern California, and her first try in stakes company, the bay filly from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, gave the Downs After Dark fans what they wanted with a popular 1 ¾-length score in the Grade 3 Dogwood Stakes.
Sent right to the lead by veteran rider, Alex Solis, the LNJ Foxwoods owned daughter of Super Saver controlled the race from the outset, opening up a working advantage on the backstretch through early fractions of :22.78 and :45.58. As the field of twelve sophomore fillies jockeyed for position behind the favorite, Super Majesty cruised into the far turn with her closest competition, Pleasant Tales and Huasca trying their best to stay within shouting distance.
That mission would be to no avail, as the talented Californian shook free at the top of the stretch, and set sail uncontested for the wire. 5-1 third choice, Chide, rallied strongly down the middle of the track under Shaun Bridgmohan to gain second place money by a neck, over Sweet Swingin, who also finished with good energy, but the winner was never in danger.
"I talked to Jerry this morning and we didn't think anybody had the speed that she has," Solis said. "They didn't. I'm very fortunate to ride a filly like her. She has a lot of talent."
Super Majesty has been talked about since her first start in late spring when she won her debut for fun in 1:08 and change at Santa Anita. She returned for an even faster six furlongs when romping home 15 ¼-lengths the best in an allowance race at Los Alamitos in July. Those two powerful sprinting performances proceeded her lone defeat last time in a two-turn, one-mile race at Del Mar, in which she was nipped by a nose. Back sprinting in the Dogwood, she looked more like the filly who carried so much buzz to begin her career.
The final time for the seven furlongs was a solid 1:23.02 on Churchill's fast main track. Tonight’s win raised Super Majesty’s career record to 4-3-1-0. As the 11-10 favorite of the bettors, she returned $4.20 for the win. The exacta over Chide returned $26.20.
It remains to be seen whether or not this performance was enough for her connections to take a shot and point her for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in six weeks time. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was not in attendance to comment.