Hollywood Park notes: Scarlet Strike targeting trio of turf stakes

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The versatile filly Scarlet Strike is a stakes winner on turf. She also has placed in stakes on turf, dirt, and synthetic tracks in the last year.

For the next few months, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer wants to focus on Scarlet Strike’s apparent strength, racing her three times in stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf at the Betfair Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting.

The first assignment will be Saturday’s $100,000 Senorita Stakes over a mile. The intention is to follow that with appearances in the $150,000 Honeymoon Handicap over 1 1/8 miles on June 8 and the $350,000 American Oaks over 1 1/4 miles on July 13. The American Oaks is a Grade 1 and is the richest turf race of the spring-summer meeting.

It will be a busy campaign for Scarlet Strike, but she has already had a busy career.

By Smart Strike, the filly has won 2 of 10 starts and $332,340. Scarlet Strike won her last start, the Grade 3 Providencia Stakes over 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on April 6. On March 2, she was third behind Beholder in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes over a mile on dirt at Santa Anita. Beholder finished a game second to Princess of Sylmar in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on Friday.

Scarlet Strike worked five furlongs on turf in 1:03 at Hollywood Park on Friday. Her consistency – never finishing worse than third in her career – has earned the admiration of Hollendorfer, who co-owns the filly with John Carver and Green Smith. He credits her conformation as an asset.

“She hasn’t tailed off in her works,” he said. “She’s really well built.”

Rafael Bejarano, who spent last week riding in Kentucky, will have the mount on Scarlet Strike in the Grade 3 Senorita, the only six-figure stakes at Hollywood Park next weekend.

The $70,000 Came Home Stakes for 3-year-olds over seven furlongs is part of Saturday’s program. The $70,000 Round Table Handicap over 1 1/2 miles on turf is the main race Sunday.

Solis loaded with juveniles, on a roll

It may be a while before a 2-year-old race is run in Southern California that does not include a runner trained by Walther Solis.

Solis has had an excellent start to the spring-summer meeting with his juveniles. He won his second race of the spring with a 2-year-old on Friday when the first-time starter Time for Angie won a maiden special weight for fillies over 4 1/2 furlongs.

Ridden by Jose Valdivia Jr., Time for Angie ($4.60) stalked 6-5 favorite Ninnavee to early stretch, took the lead in the final furlong, and won by 1 1/4 lengths in 52.81 seconds. Solis said that Time for Angie is a candidate for the $100,000 Cinderella Stakes over 5 1/2 furlongs on June 15.

Time for Angie is by Time to Get Even, who had his first winner as a stallion when the Solis-trained Time for a Hug won a maiden special weight race April 26.

Solis said he has more than 20 2-year-olds in his stable, many of which will start in coming weeks.

“I’ve got so many in the barn that are ready,” Solis said. “I need to run them.”