Cox 3-year-olds have good day on turf

Saturday was a good day – almost great – for the Brad Cox stable’s 3-year-old filly grass horses.

At Fair Grounds, Believe in Bertie ran off the screen in the $75,000 Pago Hop, setting a course record for one mile in an eye-popping performance. At Santa Anita, Sassy Little Lila ran an excellent race but was nipped at the wire by Decked Out in the Grade 1 American Oaks.

Sassy Little Lila nearly won what obviously was the more important race, but it was Believe in Bertie, a Louisiana homebred owned by Richard and Bertram Klein, who ran faster. She went one mile in 1:34.22 while beating the decent filly Gianna’s Dream by almost eight lengths. By comparison, the 3-year-old colt One Mean Man won the $75,000 Woodchopper Stakes on the same card in 1:35.98, and Believe in Bertie’s career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 100 seems perfectly legitimate.

“She’s bounced out of the race in good order,” Cox said Sunday. “I don’t know exactly what to do with her. There’s a Louisiana-bred race first part of March. A graded win or graded placing definitely is the goal.”

Believe in Bertie has won four times in seven starts, but this was her first stakes win. The same owners also campaign the Fair Grounds-based female turf route horse Cash Control, and Cox would like to keep the two horses separated.

As for Sassy Little Lila, she ships to Ocala, Fla., from California on Friday and will get a break from racing following her strong performance in the American Oaks. Leading for much of the race over a wet course while making her graded-stakes debut, Sassy Little Lila just did fail to fend off Decked Out’s late run in the 1 1/8-mile American Oaks.

“We’ll give her a rest and get her cranked up for a summer and fall campaign,” Cox said. “She’s worthy of a break. She’s been running hard all year.”

Sassy Little Lila, an Artie Schiller filly owned by Sheep Pond Partners and Michael Ryan, got a 91 Beyer for her run Saturday. She has finished first or second in five starts since Cox stretched her out to two turns.

“Her strong suit is she’s got both speed and stamina,” said Cox, who topped the Fair Grounds trainer standings through Sunday’s races.