Somethinaboutlaura tries again to surpass $1M

ALBANY, Calif. - Somethinaboutlaura tries for the second time to become a millionaire Saturday when she meets five rivals in the $75,000 Pacific Heights Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

Although she's meeting two fillies that beat her in her last start, Somethinaboutlaura should be a heavy favorite again in the 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares. She finished fifth at 6-5 in her first bid at millionaire status when she tried to defend her California Cup Matron title at Santa Anita on Nov. 3. Swiss Current and Purrfectly Fitting dead-heated for third in that race, three-quarters of a length in front of Somethinaboutlaura.

That loss broke a five-race win streak for Somethinaboutlaura, capped by a front-running score in the Luck Be a Lady, a six-furlong sprint at Bay Meadows on Oct. 13. Before that, she won the Grade 2 A Gleam at Hollywood Park for the second year in a row.

Although her last two wins came in sprints, Somethinaboutlaura is proven at two turns. She won a pair of turf routes in early summer, the Redondo Beach at Hollywood and Work the Crowd here, and the Foster City at a mile on the Bay Meadows main track in February.

Somethinaboutlaura has earned $963,865, with 16 wins from 29 starts. The $45,000 winner's purse in the Pacific Heights would boost her past the $1 million mark.

"When she becomes a broodmare, the million dollars is another increment that is important for her value," said trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, part of a four-person ownership group.

Somethinaboutlaura has always been a Northern California horse. She started her career in trainer Steve Miyadi's barn. She captured 6 of 10 starts for Miyadi, including the Foster City Handicap on Feb. 4, 2005, less than 10 days before Hollendorfer purchased her for $375,000 at the Fasig-Tipton sale in Kentucky.

She has won 10 stakes and $789,035 for Hollendorfer. She has won the the heart of Russell Baze, who will ride her for the first time since she won the Work the Crowd in May.

"She feels like a good horse under you, and she's real good about doing what you ask her to do," he said. "She's not the kind to pull you out of the saddle to make her move, but she does what you ask. You can put her on the lead or just off. She's real happy either way, which is good for a rider."