Fairplex Park: Butterfly Soul rallies to upset Shepherd Stakes; $29,373 pick-six carryover on Saturday

POMONA, Calif. – A hot pace on a hot day helped Butterfly Soul rally from last to post a $49.40 victory Friday in the $50,000 Phil D. Shepherd Stakes at Fairplex Park, where the temperature was 103 degrees.

Fightin Mean Mad was odds-on to win the seven-furlong stakes for 2-year-old fillies, but she and pace rival Awesome Annie were compromised by a surprising duel through fractions of 22.70 seconds and 46.59.

Meanwhile, jockey Jorge Carreno and Butterfly Soul were perfectly positioned, last after a half-mile. When the front-runners began to melt, Butterfly Soul cut loose on the far turn, swept to the lead late, and pulled away by three lengths in 1:25.79.

Her upset win helped generate a $29,373 pick-six carryover into Saturday. Renee’s Titan finished second in the Shepherd; 9-10 favorite Fightin Mean Mad finished third.

Butterfly Soul won her only previous start Aug. 17 at Golden Gate in a $25,000 maiden claimer. Trained by Genaro Vallejo and owned by Johnny Taboda, Butterfly Soul is a daughter of Henny Hughes purchased for $2,000 at the 2011 Keeneland yearling sale.

Pedroza returns to saddle; jockey standings tighten

Jockey Martin Pedroza returned to action Friday after missing Thursday recovering from cuts and bruises sustained in a spill Wednesday. Pedroza won with his first mount back, Coluda in race 7, but a three-win day by Juan Hernandez tightened the jockey standings.

While leading rider Edwin Maldonado (13 wins) blanked, Hernandez’s triple pushed him into second with 10 wins. Agapito Delgadillo is third with seven wins; Carreno and Pedroza were tied with six wins.