Hollendorfer having fun watching super filly Songbird

ARCADIA, Calif. - The warm reception that greeted Songbird when she returned to the winner’s circle after Saturday’s $400,345 Santa Anita Oaks caught the attention of Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

“I noticed that,” Hollendorfer said on Sunday morning, breaking into a grin.

Lately, Hollendorfer has had plenty of reasons to smile about Songbird, the undefeated champion 2-year-old filly of 2015. Her win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks solidifies her status as the favorite for the $1 million Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6.

Songbird will have quite a following for the Kentucky Oaks, her second start outside of California. Not only is she unbeaten in seven starts, but Songbird has yet to be tested, winning by a combined 36 lengths. The number is almost meaningless. In several of her races, jockey Mike Smith has not urged Songbird in the final furlong.

“It’s been fun,” Hollendorfer said. “It’s fun to watch her gallop and fun to watch her work.”

Songbird won the Santa Anita Oaks on a sealed and sloppy track, the first time she had raced on a surface that was not rated fast. Smith said Songbird needed a quarter-mile to gain her footing, but had no difficulty for the remainder of the race.

“We always figured she could handle an off track,” owner Rick Porter said in the winner’s circle. “We’ve found that most really good horses can handle any kind of surface. She didn’t show us anything different.

“It’s exciting to see the horse perform time after time unasked. I’m so fortunate to have a horse like this.”

Songbird has won four Grade 1 races. The Santa Anita Oaks was her first win at the highest level since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland last October.

Songbird will race at 1 1/8 miles for the first time in the Kentucky Oaks. The Santa Anita Oaks was run at 1 1/16 miles, her fourth win at that distance. Hollendorfer said that Songbird is likely to stay at Santa Anita until the end of the month, and be flown to Churchill Downs several days before the Kentucky Oaks.

Hollendorfer said the Kentucky Oaks may be the first of numerous trips out of California for Songbird this year. Although no plans have been finalized, Grade 1 races at 1 1/4 miles such as the $750,000 Delaware Handicap for fillies and mares at Delaware Park on July 16 and the $600,000 Alabama for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga on Aug. 20 are part of the discussion.

For now, the focus is on the Kentucky Oaks and appreciating a brilliant filly in Songbird.

“It’s exciting because she never does anything wrong,” Hollendorfer said.