Heavenly Humor has revenge shot
SAN MATEO, Calif. - When Heavenly Humor and Allswellthatnswell hooked up in the Stanford Stakes last spring at Bay Meadows, Allswellthatnswell got the jump on her rival and won the race.
The two meet again Saturday in the $55,000-added Soviet Problem Handicap, a six-furlong race that attracted six fillies and mares.
ran twice after winning the Stanford and then went to the sidelines. In her comeback, she set a brisk pace down the hill on the Santa Anita turf course Feb. 2 and finished second.
had one more outing following the Stanford, winning the San Jose Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on May 15. Saturday will be her first start since.
The Stanford was the poorest effort of Heavenly Humor's career, but she may have had an excuse: She ran on the rail, which may have been dead that day. She rebounded with the best effort of her career, stretching out for the first time in winning the San Jose.
Since her last start, Heavenly Humor went through a dispersal sale for horses owned and bred by the late John Franks, and she was bought by trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and Jerry Jamgotchian.
Hollendorfer, who had been a co-owner with Franks, and Jamgotchian spent $120,000 to buy out Franks' interest.
"I just like her as an individual," Hollendorfer said. "The fact she can route, I'm happy about that, but she won a sprint by five lengths at Bay Meadows in her second start."
Heavenly Humor, 4, ran well in her debut at 2, losing to stablemate Wildwood Flower. She came back to beat stablemate Bending Strings, a graded stakes winner.
Coming back from a nearly three-month layoff, she won the Miss California Stakes at Golden Gate Fields in her 3-year-old debut.
Heavenly Humor has been training steadily over the track with a pair of strong six-furlong drills as well as a bullet five-furlong work.
Not only does Heavenly Humor run well fresh, but Hollendorfer enjoys success with comebackers, winning 24 percent and showing a $2.54 flat-bet profit.
Allswellthatnswell may be tough to catch here, but if Heavenly Humor's stablemate Hippogator can apply some early pressure, Heavenly Humor could do it.