Doinghardtimeagain returns in Orange County Stakes
CYPRESS, Calif. – A Grade 2 winner often would stand out in a non-graded race such as the $75,000 Orange County Stakes on Sunday at Los Alamitos.
But uncertainty swirls around Doinghardtimeagain, whose summer campaign was below par. She finished last by more than 22 lengths in early August, followed by a race in which she was pulled up and taken off the track in a horse ambulance.
Doinghardtimeagain was not injured and returns Sunday to the track on which she won the Grade 2 Great Lady M. in July. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Doinghardtimeagain is expected to start as the favorite in the Orange County, a six-furlong stakes for fillies and mares.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Doinghardtimeagain. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 5 for 14 with a $3.65 ROI over the past two years moving horses from turf to dirt and shortening from routes to sprints. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Six entered the Orange County, including the Bob Baffert-trained allowance fillies Tres Belle and Maker Or Breaker, the Kory Owens-trained multiple stakes winner Tribal Gal, the comebacker Tasty Treat, and the outsider Wild in the Saddle.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Tasty Treat. Trainer Michael Pender is 1 for 11 with a $0.76 ROI over the past five years moving horses from turf to dirt in sprints following a layoff of at least 45 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
When she pulled up Aug. 17 on turf at Del Mar, Doinghardtimeagain had an alibi, according to Hollendorfer and jockey Mike Smith.
“[Smith] thought her feet were stinging her and tried to do the right thing,” Hollendorfer said. “Under the circumstances, that was acceptable.”
Since being pulled up, Doinghardtimeagain worked well, giving Hollendorfer reason to supplement for $1,500 to the stakes. She worked a bullet five furlongs Aug. 30 at Del Mar, followed by an easy three-furlong breeze this week. If she reproduces her last start at Los Alamitos, Doinghardtimeagain will be tough to beat.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Wild in the Saddle. Trainer Richard Baltas is winless in seven starts (with only one in the money) over the past five years moving horses from turf to dirt and shortening from routes to sprints. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Key contenders
Doinghardtimeagain (Last 3 Beyers: 51-88-63)
* A two-time Grade 2 winner (Hollywood Oaks, Great Lady M.), Doinghardtimeagain is the most accomplished in the Orange County field and the leading money earner sired by Ministers Wild Cat. Doinghardtimeagain has won six races and earned $709,266 in 15 starts.
* She won her only previous start at Los Alamitos in impressive fashion. Elvis Trujillo will ride the 4-year-old filly, whose last six starts include only one in-the-money finish.
Tres Belle (Last 3 Beyers: 52-85-77)
* The most recent start by Tres Belle was a last-place finish in the Great Lady M. won by Doinghardtimeagain. It was an uncharacteristically poor effort by Tres Belle, whose recent works suggest it was an aberration.
* Tres Belle has been working regularly all summer at Los Alamitos and will be ridden for the first time by Victor Espinoza. She has a pressing style that should lead to a good trip from the outside post and speed figures that put her in the hunt.
Tribal Gal (Last 3 Beyers: 87-63-64)
* Rafael Bejarano will ride Tribal Gal, whose stakes wins include the Oak Tree Distaff at Pleasanton and two minor stakes at Turf Paradise. Tribal Gal has won seven races and $256,505 from 18 starts.
* Tribal Gal was a vet scratch from an allowance race Aug. 7 at Del Mar but worked a bullet half-mile five days later, followed by another bullet work Aug. 27. Tribal Gal has enough speed to establish a forward position from the rail.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Maker Or Breaker. Trainer Bob Baffert is 4 for 6 with a $3.00 ROI over the past three years taking blinkers off and shortening from routes to sprints. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan