Hollywood Park: Lady Sweetness goes for three in a row

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Lady Sweetness will attempt to win her third consecutive start in a $55,000 allowance race over seven furlongs at Hollywood Park on Friday evening. The allowance race could lead to longer and more important races, if Lady Sweetness runs as well as she did earlier this year.

Trainer Mike Mitchell would like to start Lady Sweetness around two turns later this summer and envisions Friday’s race, the filly’s first start in three months, as a prep race.

“She’s so big and pretty, she’ll probably like two turns,” Mitchell aid. “I think seven furlongs is perfect. We’ll see what we got.”

Owned by Mitchell’s wife, Denise, and Sagely Stable, Lady Sweetness, 4, made her debut in January, finishing second in a maiden race at Santa Anita. She followed with a comprehensive victory by 5 3/4 lengths in a maiden race over 6 1/2 furlongs on Feb. 26 and a half-length victory in an optional claimer over seven furlongs March 25.

In the latter race, Lady Sweetness burned her heels on a wet-fast track, despite wearing bandages, Mitchell said. The incident prompted him to give her a month-long vacation.

“She needed a break,” he said. “In that race she won, she ran down. It could have been the track surface that day. I gave her a little break and kicked her out after 30 days. A lot of them will burn through the bandages on the bottom of their ankles. She burned through a little on one side.”

Lady Sweetness has drawn the rail in the allowance race, the second of eight races on a program that begins at 7:05 p.m. Lady Sweetness, who will be ridden by Martin Garcia, is likely to be in pursuit of Excellent News, who is quick enough to set the pace.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Excellent News has started twice at the current spring-summer meeting, finishing fourth in the B. Thoughtful Stakes for statebred fillies and mares on April 23 and fifth in an allowance race on turf May 27. Excellent News is winless in four starts this year.

The 2010 stakes winner Fashion Trend and the former claimers Ancient Holiday and Downhill Diva are the other starters.

Fashion Trend won the Palomares Stakes at Fairplex Park last September and was third in her only subsequent start, the Grade 2 El Encino Stakes at Santa Anita in January.