Hillside course no problem for Fair Point in Ken Maddy

ARCADIA, Calif. - Fair Point and jockey Jose Ortiz had no trouble dealing with Santa Anita’s unique hillside turf course for the first time, winning Saturday’s $102,415 Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes for female sprinters.

Ortiz, who won Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf with Oscar Performance, guided Fair Point from eighth in a field of 12 to win the Grade 3 Maddy by 1 1/4 lengths over 29-1 Miss Double d’Oro. Fair Point handled the course, which features a right-hand turn on the hillside and a sometimes tricky crossing over the main dirt course to the turf oval.

“We got a good position,” Ortiz said. “As soon as we crossed the dirt, I tipped out a little and she gave me a good run.

“Everyone said it was different. She didn’t hesitate.”

Fair Point ($11) was timed in 1:11.75.

Most Beautiful, a 14-1 shot, finished third, followed by Lady Shipman, Miss Katie Mae, Acapulco, Off the Road, Wild At Heart, Mehronissa, Entrechat, Juno, and Snow Cloud. Lady Shipman was the 3-1 favorite. She was always near the front, led by two lengths with a furlong remaining, and finished 2 1/2 lengths behind Fair Point.

Fair Point was the first starter on the hillside turf course for trainer Shug McGaughey.

“I felt if we got the trip, we’d be fine and Jose did a great job,” McGaughey said. “The turf is very fast and very fair. She finished really well on it.”

Owned by Stuart Janney III, Fair Point, a 4-year-old filly by Smart Strike, has won 4 of 14 starts and $389,850. Fair Point won the Smart ‘n Fancy Stakes at Saratoga in August and was second in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 14.

McGaughey said Fair Point will be rested for a 2017 campaign.