Hawthorne: Maliziosa prevails

STICKNEY, Ill. - She was trapped behind horses on the far turn, shuffled back to last turning for home, taken to the rail, then swerved far outside in midstretch - imagine how far Maliziosa would have won by if she'd gotten a good trip. As it was, Maliziosa powered through the final furlong to win the $100,000 Summertime Promise Stakes by four lengths at Hawthorne.

Perhaps there was not much to the Summertime Promise, but Maliziosa, who shipped here from Churchill Downs for this start, seems headed to the top of her class. A 3-year-old filly owned Haras Santa Maria de Araras and trained by Bill Mott, Maliziosa has won three starts in a row and seems to be getting better every race.

Three weeks ago, she won the Edgewood Stakes at Churchill, and the five fillies who faced her Saturday were no match for Maliziosa's talent. Run over a somewhat wet turf course that was labeled firm, the 1 1/16-mile Summertime Promise featured a quick pace set by the longshot Wasted Wisdom. She ran a quarter-mile in 23.12 seconds and a half in 47.02 while Maliziosa ran easily at the back of the pack under jockey Rene Douglas.

Douglas moved Maliziosa between horses on the backstretch and was trapped with no place to go on the turn and into the stretch. It didn't matter, as Maliziosa, finally clear on the outside, ran right past four horses in the final furlong. The heavy favorite, she paid $3 to win and was timed in 1:44.40. Strikes No Spares finished second, followed by Sarah Jade, Lemon Haze, Wasted Wisdom and Miss Spragg.