Briecat goes to front and doesn't look back

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Longshot front-runner Briecat exploited the fast, speed-favoring surface Sunday at Hollywood Park, where she scored a $28.80 upset in the Grade 2 Bayakoa Handicap for fillies and mares.

The only 3-year-old in the field of seven, Briecat set a swift pace under Jon Court (46.01 seconds and 1:09.79) and won by 2 1/4 lengths over even-money favorite Model. Wake Up Maggie finished three lengths back in third.

The final time of the $150,000 race was 1:40.38, the second-fastest 1 1/16-mile time of the meet and only 0.04 of a second off the Cushion Track record set Nov. 27 by Slew's Tiznow. Vladimir Cerin trains Briecat for owners David and Holly Wilson. It was her fifth win from 10 starts; Cerin said Briecat would aim to the Grade 2 El Encino Stakes on Jan. 18 at Santa Anita.

* A pick-six carryover of $146,154 is up for grabs when racing resumes Wednesday at Hollywood Park.