Hollendorfer closing in on 7,000 wins
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jerry Hollendorfer, the Hall of Fame trainer, entered the week just three wins away from 7,000 for his career, and there’s a mathematical chance that the milestone win could come at Del Mar in Friday’s featured seventh race with Sharaun, who makes her first start for Hollendorfer in the five-furlong turf sprint.
Sharaun defeated maidens in a turf sprint Oct. 2 at Golden Gate Fields for trainer Greg James, after which she was privately purchased by Hollendorfer for a partnership.
“She ran well first time and came up for sale. We liked her and put together a deal to get her,” Hollendorfer said Wednesday.
Sharaun is a California-bred but beat open company in her debut. She is taking advantage of that California-bred condition, though, on Friday, competing in a race for statebreds at the first-level allowance condition or $20,000 claiming. Of the nine runners, only one – Lucky Student – can be claimed.
“She’s going to face a lot tougher competition down there,” Hollendorfer said.
Hollendorfer was at Golden Gate on Wednesday working horses but was going to head back down to Southern California for the rest of the week. That’s his usual schedule every week, splitting his time in north and south, and it’s one of the reasons that milestone win could conceivably happen at either Del Mar or Golden Gate.
Hollendorfer has two runners scheduled to run Thursday and has runners in five races up and down the coast on Friday.
Race 7
KEY CONTENDERS
Sharaun (Beyer: 72)
◗ Apprentice Daniel Lopez has the mount, which means she will get a 10-pound weight break from Lucky Student, who appears to be her main rival.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 5 Sharaun. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 18-2-3-4 with a $0.61 ROI over the past five years in turf sprints in Southern California in the first start following a trainer switch. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Lucky Student (Last 3 Beyers: 81-78-69)
◗ Her sharp early speed, combined with the rails being out 18 feet, make her the one to catch, but she has to lug the top weight of 124 pounds.
◗ She often settles for minor awards, with three wins and eight seconds from 23 starts, and she has yet to win on turf, though she was a close third last fall here in her lone turf sprint on this course.
Nite Delite (Last 3 Beyers: 78-54-65)
◗ She ran the best race of her life last time under these exact conditions when switching to turf for the first time and adding blinkers. A similar effort puts her right there. Five of the horses in this race exit that Oct. 30 race. She did the best of them all, finishing second.
No Comparison (Last 3 Beyers: 69-79-81)
◗ She disappointed last time as the 3-5 favorite when finishing sixth in that Oct. 30 race, but both of her prior efforts, including a win over this course against maidens in September, would make her a formidable presence.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Silver Mojave. Trainer Mike Puype is 11-3-1-2 with a $6.49 ROI over the past year in turf sprints at Del Mar. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan