Maybellene must contend with Hollendorfer quartet in Las Virgenes
ARCADIA, Calif. – The 2012 filly crop has been good to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Through midweek, Hollendorfer fillies – 2-year-olds of 2014 and 3-year-olds of 2015 – had won 22 maiden special weight races and six stakes.
The total may increase Saturday at Santa Anita. Hollendorfer entered five in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes; four will start – the Grade 3-placed Majestic Presence, turf stakes winner Lutine Belle, and sprint stakes winners Achiever’s Legacy and Light the City. The impressive maiden winner Glory will scratch for another spot.
Hollendorfer believes the one-mile, $300,000 Las Virgenes is the first time he has started four in a Grade 1 race. “I’m grateful to have these kinds of horses,” he said.
Bettors will be happy if they can find the winner. “Everybody considers this race wide open,” Hollendorfer said. “If you look at the numbers and all the horses, it is wide open.”
Bob Baffert entered Maybellene, third in the Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos, and Callback, the runner-up in a Grade 2 sprint. Mark Casse entered the maiden winners Mio Me and Miss Mandate; the John Sadler-trained Suva Harbor rounds out the field.
The locals are leaderless. Every major stakes for the division has been won by a filly based elsewhere. Sunset Glow won two graded stakes at Del Mar, Angela Renee won the Chandelier, and Take Charge Brandi won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and Starlet.
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KEY CONTENDERS
Maybellene (Last 3 Beyers: 86-80-74)
◗ By 2014 leading freshman sire Lookin At Lucky, Maybellene has won 2 of 7 starts and gradually improved through the fall. Maybellene finished third last out in the Grade 1 Starlet on Dec. 13.
◗ The scratch of Glory will put Maybellene on the rail, where she is likely to employ a front-running/pace-pressing strategy.
◗ Speed has been powerful at this meet at a mile on dirt – 17 of the 19 races were won by a horse positioned within two lengths of the lead after the first half-mile.
Callback (Last 3 Beyers: 89-79-45)
◗ Callback benefited from a pronounced inside bias while finishing second in a Grade 2 sprint last out. She saved ground on the faster part of the track and chased Seduire, unplaced last weekend at Gulfstream Park.
◗ Sired by Street Sense, Callback is stretching out to a route of ground for the first time. She takes off blinkers but has natural speed and is expected to be involved early.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 7 Callback. Trainer Bob Baffert is 13-6-3-1 with a $1.53 ROI over the past five years taking blinkers off and going sprint to route on dirt. Sample includes elite runners like Bayern, Secret Circle, Fed Biz, Dortmund, Tiz Midnight, and Midnight Hawk. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Majestic Presence (Last 3 Beyers: 83-80-60)
◗ Majestic Presence is the best of the Hollendorfer quartet; assistant Dan Ward expects continued improvement. “I think there’s a lot of upside still,” Ward said. “Watching her train, Gary [Stevens] has been working her behind horses, and she is going by.”
◗ Stevens rode Majestic Presence for the first time in the Starlet; she flattened out after an early move. With solid works and seven weeks between starts, Majestic Presence will fire.
Light the City (Last 3 Beyers: 68-80-82)
◗ Light the City was short when she finished fifth as the favorite last out. Her training had been compromised by a minor setback.
◗ From the outside, she is expected to show speed.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Suva Harbor. Trainer John Sadler is 32-4-2-4 with a $0.81 ROI over the past two years in route graded stakes in the second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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