Santa Anita: Goldikova matches improving Egg Drop vs. Miss Pippa, More Chocolate

ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita will be quiet Sunday following the two-day Breeders’ Cup festival on Friday and Saturday.

But for Mike Mitchell, who trains BC Mile entrant Obviously and the improving filly Egg Drop, closing-day Sunday is an opportunity for a big finish to the autumn meet. Betfair Hollywood Park opens Thursday.

“I don’t have a lot of Obviouslys, and I don’t have a barn full of horses like” Egg Drop, Mitchell said. “So yes, [Sunday] is big.”

The closing-day stakes is the Grade 2, $150,000-added Goldikova Stakes in which Egg Drop will try to win a second straight graded turf stakes. She won the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon by a head in her most recent start Sept. 2 at Del Mar.

To win the one-mile Goldikova, Egg Drop must beat a competitive group that includes two fillies trained by John Sadler.

“Two good ones,” Sadler said.

They are Miss Pippa, winner of the restricted Swingtime Stakes on Oct. 5 at Santa Anita, and More Chocolate, a Grade 2 winner who has been banging heads with top main-track fillies all season, including BC Distaff entrants Beholder and Authenticity.

Nine were entered in the Goldikova. In addition to the three main contenders, the field includes Customer Base, A Time to Love, E Z Kitty, Long Face, Ighraa, and Appealing.

The horse to beat is Egg Drop, a gray daughter of 1996 BC Classic winner Alphabet Soup.

While Mitchell-trained Obviously was expected to set the pace Saturday in the BC Mile, the speedy Egg Drop has become increasingly versatile. Early this year, Mitchell said, “I thought she had to have an easy lead. Now she rates very kind, she can sit right off.”

In the two months since Egg Drop won the Yellow Ribbon, Mitchell has seen her change.

“She’s so much better and stronger since Del Mar,” he said. “Right now, she’s doing great.”

Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Egg Drop has won four races and $254,020 from 10 starts. If she runs well Sunday and trains well afterward, Mitchell will point Egg Drop to the Grade 1 Matriarch on Dec. 1 at Betfair Hollywood. Martin Garcia rides Egg Drop.

The Sadler duo will vie for favoritism. Miss Pippa became a stakes winner Oct. 5 under Mike Smith when she won the $74,000 Swingtime Stakes, a restricted stakes at a mile on turf.

“She ran out of her mind,” Sadler said. “I attribute it to Mike.”

Miss Pippa raced the final quarter-mile in about 22 seconds to win by a half-length. She has won three races and $173,602 from 11 starts.

More Chocolate, 4, is the richest horse in the field, having earned $367,642 and won 3 of 13 starts. She faced Grade 1 company in four of her last five starts, all on the main track.

“She’s coming out of much tougher races,” Sadler said.”I want to see how she looks back on turf.”

More Chocolate has won 2 of 7 on turf, although her best speed figures have been on the main track. Sadler attributes that to natural improvement rather than surface.

“She was just getting good at that time, and it made sense to keep her on dirt,” Sadler said.

Sadler believes More Chocolate can be as effective on turf. If so, it will give her more options for 2014. Joel Rosario rides More Chocolate.