Hollywood Park: Teddy’s Promise targets B. Thoughtful Stakes

Teddy’s Promise, the winner of two graded stakes for female sprinters in the last 18 months, will start in Saturday’s $125,000 B. Thoughtful Stakes on the California Gold Rush program at Hollywood Park.

Trainer Ron Ellis said owners Ted and Judy Nichols considered sending Teddy’s Promise to the $300,000 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs on May 4 but have opted to stay home.

A 5-year-old mare, Teddy’s Promise has won 8 of 22 starts and $654,981 and will be favored in the B. Thoughtful, which is run over 7 1/2 furlongs for California-bred fillies and mares. Earlier this year, Teddy’s Promise won the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes and was second in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita.

Teddy’s Promise had mixed results at Hollywood Park at the 2012 spring-summer meeting, winning once – in the Time to Leave Stakes over five furlongs last May – from three starts. She later was fifth in the Desert Stormer and A Gleam handicaps.

“The track got deeper in the second half of last year,” Ellis said. “It’s perfect now. I hope it stays that way.”

The B. Thoughtful Stakes is one of four six-figure stakes for California-breds on the Gold Rush program.

The $300,000 Snow Chief Stakes for 3-year-olds over 1 1/8 miles is led by Tiz a Minister, who was fourth in the Santa Anita Derby, and Omega Star, who won the Echo Eddie Stakes for California-bred sprinters at Santa Anita on March 30.

Tiz a Minister and Omega Star have met before, finishing third and seventh in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on March 9. They also raced against each other on Jan. 26 at Santa Anita in the California Breeders' Championship, where Tiz a Minister won the race by 1 1/4 lengths with Omega Star second.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the number of times Tiz a Minister has faced Omega Star. They have raced against each other twice, not once.