Undefeated Hoosier Philly tops Saturday's Golden Rod

Undefeated Hoosier Philly leads a field of 10 2-year-old fillies who were entered in Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs.

The 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod is the next stop on the road to the Kentucky Oaks. The top five finishers of the race will receive points based on a 10-4-3-2-1 scale in their attempt to qualify for the first Friday in May.

The Golden Rod will go as Race 10 of 12 on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” program that features all 2-year-old races. First post is 1 p.m. EST. The other featured events on the card include the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), Ed Brown and Fern Creek.

Trained by Tom Amoss, Hoosier Philly dominated her six rivals in the $200,000 Rags to Riches by 7 1/2 lengths under jockey Edgar Morales. The gray daughter of Into Mischief began to garner the attention of many onlookers during her morning training before her debut, where she was bet down to even-money favoritism and scored by 1 3/4 lengths in a 5 12-furlong maiden special weight contest. On Nov. 10, Hoosier Philly had her most serious preparation toward the Golden Rod when she clipped five furlongs in 58.20 seconds at Churchill Downs. Hoosier Philly and Morales will break from post 4.

One of Hoosier Philly’s rivals who entered the Golden Rod was Pretty Mischievous. The undefeated daughter of Into Mischief is 2-for-2 and, like Hoosier Philly, both of her victories came at Churchill Downs. Pretty Mischievous broke her maiden Sept. 18 by 2 1/4 lengths and returned Oct. 30, splashing to a 1 3/4-length allowance win over the sloppy racetrack. Pretty Mischievous has been well backed in both of her starts. She was the 2-1 favorite in her debut against 11 rivals and was heavily bet to 1-5 against five fillies in her allowance win. Churchill Downs’ leading rider Tyler Gaffalione will retain the mount from the rail.