American Lady Dominates at Hollywood
Heavily favored American Lady dominated five opponents in the $61,032 allowance feature Thursday at Hollywood Park.
Ridden with extreme confidence by jockey Martin Garcia, the 3-year-old daughter of Stormy Atlantic and the Rubiano mare Comfort Zone prevailed by 2 ¼ lengths without ever being asked for her best.
Owned by Kaleem Shah and trained by Bob Baffert, American Lady, who broke from the outside in the field of six, was allowed to sit slightly off the pace early on, cruised up to the leaders while four wide approaching the stretch, then took command with a little less than an eighth of a mile remaining.
Completing the 6 ½ furlongs over Cushion Track in 1:16.07, American Lady, who was purchased for $230,000 as the Keeneland September sale in 2009, paid $2.60, $2.20 and $2.10 as the 3-10 favorite.
The second win in three starts for the gray increased her earnings to $77,120.
Zenidekka, the 6-1 second choice, gained second by a half-length over Evita’s Sister, who rallied from last. A California bred who had won her previous start June 11, Zenidekka returned $3.60 and $3. The show price on Evita’s Sister was $3.60. Moonstruck Maya, Hopeful Union and Freewayracer completed the order of finish.
The win by American Lady was Baffert’s 28th of the Spring/Summer meet. With 12 days left, the Hall of Famer holds a 28-25 lead over Mike Mitchell in the trainer standings. Baffert has never won a Spring/Summer title.
Winning tickets in the Pick 6 were each worth $30,765.60. An additional $999,783 was wagered Thursday in pursuit of a $111,940 carryover.