Hollendorfer back on scene as Vasilika drills for Yellow Ribbon

DEL MAR, Calif. – Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer was at Del Mar for the first time this season on Sunday, watching the best horse in his barn, the mare Vasilika, drill for the Grade 2, $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for fillies and mares on Saturday.

Hollendorfer received an injunction on Friday in a suit against Del Mar, which had denied him being able to race at the meet. Dan Ward, his local assistant, had run horses here since the meet began July 17. Ward’s final runners were Sunday. The barn does not have anything in on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Hollendorfer said he will be the trainer of record beginning with Saturday’s races.

Hollendorfer – who takes a financial position in a number of horses in his barn – also has retained his partial ownership of Vasilika. Hollendorfer had sold his interests in several other horses of his who were to race, owing to a state racing rule that says a trainer who has a valid license – which Hollendorfer does, as he has no ruling against him – cannot have a horse he owns run for another trainer. Had the injunction not been granted, Hollendorfer would have had to sell his interest in Vasilika if she was to run for Ward. That’s now moot.

Vasilika has won 12 of her last 13 starts, most recently the Grade 1 Gamely at Santa Anita, and she is 12 for 14 since Hollendorfer claimed her for $40,000 in February 2018. She has earned more than $1.2 million since then.

Working on the turf Sunday, Vasilika went six furlongs in 1:14.20.

“A lot of people said they were glad to see me back, which was nice,” Hollendorfer said of the greeting he got from fellow trainers Sunday. He also stuck around for the afternoon’s races.

Hollendorfer has a string of horses at Los Alamitos, which welcomed him after he was evicted from Santa Anita on June 22. With the exception of brief weekly visits to Northern California, he has been at Los Alamitos every morning.

“I’ve been working every day, but it’s nice to come down here and breeze a couple of nice horses,” said Hollendorfer, who had three workers Sunday.

Vasilika was assigned high weight of 125 pounds for the Yellow Ribbon, a 1 1/16-mile grass race. She will have to concede four pounds to Beau Recall, who will ship in for trainer Brad Cox after finishing second most recently in the Grade 1 Just a Game at Belmont Park. Others expected for the Yellow Ribbon include Elysea’s World, Lemoona, and Storm the Hill. Toinette and Valedictorian are possible.

Flavien Prat has been the regular rider for Vasilika, but he will be at Saratoga on Saturday to ride Bellafina in the Grade 1 Test. His close friend Julien Leparoux will head here to ride Vasilika.