Citizen Kitty seeks repeat win in Hastings Stakes

Citizen Kitty heads a strong field of 11 fillies and mares for the $50,000 Hastings Stakes on Monday at Emerald Downs. Citizen Kitty, the top older female in Washington last year, also will be defending her title in the six-furlong dash that goes as the sixth race on an eight-race holiday card that begins at 2 p.m. Pacific.

Trained by Jeff Metz, Citizen Kitty is a horse for the course. Seven of her eight wins were at Emerald, and she had gone unplaced in four successive races at Hastings and Santa Anita before her win in an allowance race that carried $50,000 optional-claiming conditions May 6 at Emerald.

Metz wasn’t surprised by the strong performance in her last start.

“She was running against some pretty tough horses at Santa Anita, and the track is a lot deeper there than at Emerald,” he said.

Along with the Hastings at the 2017 meet, the versatile Citizen Kitty won the $50,000 Boeing and the $65,000 Emerald Distaff Handicap. She also was the runner-up in the other two stakes for fillies and mares – the $50,000 Washington Legislators and the Washington Cup Fillies and Mares.

The 6-year-old mare has tactical speed, which she will need to use after breaking from the outside post with jockey Jose Zunino.

The new face in town, Mother of Dragons, looks like the main threat.

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The 4-year-old filly owned and trained by Andreas Psarras is coming off a win in the $54,650 Camilla Urso at Golden Gate Fields. Finishing third in the six-furlong dash on Tapeta was Alliford Bay, who won her next two starts in stakes races at Hastings. Last year, Alliford Bay won the Seattle Stakes at Emerald in her second start.

Mother of Dragons showed she can handle dirt when she won her debut at Santa Rosa last Aug. 12. She came right back to finish third in a first-level allowance race with a $40,000 claiming option Sept. 16 at Los Alamitos. She will break from the inside post with Julien Couton riding.

KEY CONTENDERS

Citizen Kitty, by Proud Citizen
Last 3 Beyers: 72-68-63

◗ She loves the local surface, and with a sharp five-furlong move May 19, Metz appears to have her primed for another strong effort.

Mother of Dragons, by First Dude
Last 3 Beyers: 80-71-77

◗ The lightly raced Florida-bred has won 4 of 6 starts, and the only time she went unplaced was in the $82,935 Kalookan Queen on Jan. 14 at Santa Anita. The easy winner, Selcourt, won her next two starts in the Grade 3 Los Flores and Grade 2 Santa Monica.

Invested Prospect, by Abraaj
Last 3 Beyers: 66-54-49

◗ The speed of the speed, she was coming off a lengthy layoff when she set the pace as the favorite in Citizen Kitty’s win May 6. The Blaine Wright-trained 5-year-old could be tough to reel in if she takes the expected move forward in her second start back.

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