Kathleen Rose ready for anything in Solana Beach
DEL MAR, Calif. – In 10 career starts, Kathleen Rose has proven to be a fighter. She has won five times, each time by racing on or near the lead.
On Sunday, in the $150,000 Solana Beach Handicap for California-bred fillies and mares at Del Mar, Kathleen Rose may prove to be a finisher.
Trained by Mike Machowsky, Kathleen Rose has yet to win a stakes, coming closest in her last start, when she finished second by a neck in the Grade 2 Royal Heroine Stakes at Santa Anita on June 28.
The distance and timing of the Solana Beach suits Kathleen Rose, a 4-year-old filly who races for owner-breeders Bruce and Beverly Zietz. The race is run over a mile on turf.
Kathleen Rose may have the early lead in the Solana Beach, but Machowsky said the filly is not reliant on that style. Last December, she sat second in the first half of an optional claimer over a mile on turf and won. Machowsky said Kathleen Rose has been patient in workouts running behind horses.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Kathleen Rose. Trainer Mike Machowsky is 5 for 20 with a $2.61 ROI over the past five years in turf routes at Del Mar with a purse of at least $60,000.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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“I don’t have a concern about her rating,” Machowsky said. “In the morning, she sits off horses and finishes up well.”
Kathleen Rose is part of a field of 10 that includes six stakes winners – Doinghardtimeagain, Magic Spot, Qiaona, Sing and Tell, Unusual Hottie, and Warren’s Veneda.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Magic Spot. Is undefeated and has never trailed at any point of call in four turf routes (0 for 4 in other starts).Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Unusual Hottie, who won consecutive stakes at Hollywood Park in the spring and summer of 2013, was second in the 2012 Solana Beach and third last year.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Doinghardtimeagain is not a definite starter. She could run in another stakes in the next month, he said. Doinghardtimeagain won the Great Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos on July 12 but was last of six in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes on Aug. 2.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 4 Heat Du Jour and No. 9 Doinghardtimeagain. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is winless in 13 starts at Del Mar over the past five years with horses moving from synthetic to turf in a route race.Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
KEY CONTENDERS
Kathleen Rose (Last 3 Beyers: 86-93-86)
◗ Kathleen Rose has not raced since June 28, and the last time she ran after such a break, she won an optional claimer at Santa Anita on May 1.
“She runs so well fresh,” Machowsky said. “The races have come together perfectly for us, spacing-wise.”
◗ Kathleen Rose is likely to have company near the front. Possible pacesetters include Magic Spot, who won the Campanile Stakes for 3-year-old Cal-bred fillies at Golden Gate Fields, and Sing and Tell, the winner of the Luther Burbank Handicap at Santa Rosa.
Warren’s Veneda (Last 3 Beyers: 87-65-80)
◗ After a fourth in the Desert Stormer Stakes on dirt at Santa Anita on June 15, Warren’s Veneda rebounded to finish a fast-closing second in the Osunitas Stakes on turf here July 19.
◗ She won the Cat’s Cradle Handicap at Hollywood Park last November.