Hollywood Park: Clenor, Aotearoa seek redemption in Miesque, Generous

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Clenor met her match in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, finishing eighth of 14 in a loss that ended a three-race winning streak.

“I don’t think she had the greatest trip,” trainer Doug O’Neill said. “She was far back and had a lot of good horses to pass. We thought she was good enough to win. We were disappointed.”

Clenor can end November with a win in Saturday’s $100,000 Miesque Stakes for 2-year-old fillies over a mile on turf at Betfair Hollywood Park. The Miesque is a Grade 3 and could be Clenor’s first win at that level after victories in the Oak Tree Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar in September and the Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita in October.

Clenor is part of a field of six in the Miesque and will start from post 3.

“Having a cozy post in a smaller field, I think we can get to our Surfer Girl results,” O’Neill said.

The Miesque Stakes is the fourth of 10 races Saturday, and one of two stakes for 2-year-olds on the program. The $100,000 Generous Stakes over a mile on turf is Saturday’s second race and has drawn a field of six.

Clenor races for Great Friends Stable, Robert Cseplo, and Steven Keh. An Irish-bred by Oratario, Clenor was third in the Group 3 Balanchine Stakes in Ireland in late June before being acquired privately and sent to O’Neill. She won her American debut in a maiden race at Del Mar and followed with the two stakes wins.

In the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf over a mile, Clenor was 13th for the first half-mile and closed with a wide rally to finish 5 3/4 lengths behind the winner, English invader Chriselliam.

The Miesque Stakes includes Nesso, who was second to Clenor in the Oak Tree Juvenile Fillies Turf and Surfer Girl stakes and 10th in the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf after setting the pace for the first six furlongs. The only other runner with stakes experience is Love in the Desert, who was third in the Empress Stakes in England in June and fourth in the Juvenile Turf Sprint Stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on Nov. 1.

Aotearoa starts in the Generous Stakes under circumstances similar to Clenor – he is an October stakes winner at Santa Anita who was beaten in the Breeders’ Cup. Trained by Leonard Powell for breeder Paul Viskovich, Aotearoa won the Zuma Beach Stakes over a mile on turf Oct. 6 and was seventh in the BC Juvenile Turf.

Wednesday morning, Powell said it was unlikely that Aotearoa would start in the Generous. But he changed his mind when he saw the race had only five other entrants and decided to run Aoteroa, a California-bred gelding.

“I was a bit scared that it was too quick from the Breeders’ Cup,” Powell said Wednesday afternoon. “It’s a small field and that made me change my mind. It’s the surface and distance, too. My horse is versatile on the turf.”

Aotearoa was beaten 8 3/4 lengths by the European runner Outstrip in the BC Juvenile Turf after racing as close as fourth with a quarter-mile remaining.

In the Generous, Aotearoa will be in pursuit of the intriguing Pablo Del Monte, a Giant’s Causeway colt bred and trained by Wesley Ward. Unbeaten in two starts, Pablo Del Monte makes his stakes and turf debut in the Generous. He beat maidens over 4 1/2 furlongs by five lengths on the Polytrack surface at Keeneland in April and won a first-condition allowance race over 6 1/2 furlongs there Oct. 13, drawing off by 7 1/4 lengths in the final furlong.

Pablo Del Monte earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 90 for that performance, which could make him favored in the Generous. Pablo Del Monte was listed as owned by Ward for his first two races. For the Generous, Ward shares ownership with Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith, the partners behind Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien’s runners.

Giant’s Causeway stands at Ashford Stud in Kentucky and was campaigned by Tabor and Magnier.

Ontology, 10th in the BC Juvenile Turf, is a contender from off the pace. He was second to Diamond Bachelor in the Oak Tree Juvenile at Del Mar on Sept. 4. Ontology was fifth with a quarter-mile remaining in the BC Juvenile Turf before fading.

“He had a bit of a wide trip and he ran a pretty good race,” trainer Simon Callaghan said. “It will be a big class drop for this.”