Stable finds winning the best revenge

ALBANY, Calif. - The 2-year-old filly A Lil' Alimony attracted plenty of local media attention when she won her debut last Wednesday. It's not that she is especially talented, rather it's her name and ownership group that made her a star on television sports reports.

A Lil' Alimony is owned by the First Wives Club, five divorced women whose jockey silks have a picture of five witches riding on a broom.

"We're all divorced women and have been friends for a long time," said Carol Lingenfelter, who bred the filly with Leland Decker and heads the syndicate of five women, all of whom live in the Fresno area in central California. "We'd been talking about putting a little partnership together."

The First Wives Club comprises Lingenfelter, Kathi Cordoza, Sandy Tavares, Rhonda Simpson, and Kathy Packett.

The filly, by Mr. Procrastinator out of Summer Picnic, was originally named Summer Pleasure. But the First Wives Club - inspired by the novel and movie of the same name - figured A Lil' Alimony would be more appropriate.

Before settling on A Lil' Alimony, they tossed around other names that would tie in to their stable name. Other names considered were: Been There Done That, Hallelujah, Splitsville, and The Exes from Texas.

The women also decided they wanted to make a statement with their silks.

"We thought we'd like bright pink with a picture of Marilyn Monroe holding her hand up blowing a kiss good-bye," said Lingenfelter, who owns a farm named Popular Meadows in Sanger. "One day when I was bringing a horse back to my farm, I stopped at a gas station. My mother saw a Halloween card with five witches on a broomstick, and I knew we had to use it, so I bought the card and showed it to my friends."

Lingenfelter fell in love with horses as a young girl and remembers walking through trainer Malcolm Anderson's barn with her stepfather.

"I was just in awe," she said. "I loved the sport. I've been involved in the business now for 20 years, and I've always thought how lucky I was to be involved in something I love."

Lingenfelter has cautioned her friends that racing is not an easy game.

"The worst thing that can happen is to get hot right away," she said.

But that doesn't mean victories can't be celebrated, even though none of the members was able to attend A Lil' Alimony's first race.

They aren't superstitious, though. When trainer Greg Gilchrist picks out the filly's next race, all five plan to attend.

To single or not

With a $111,026 pick six carryover, Wednesday's card could attract a lot of attention. The pick six begins in the third race with the day's feature, a six-furlong $50,000 optional claimer that drew seven fillies.

The question for handicappers is whether to single Vaca City Flyer, who just romped by 6 1/2 lengths in a first-level allowance and has won 5 of her last 6 starts, since being claimed from an $8,000 maiden claiming victory.

Her lone loss during that time was a third-place finish to undefeated Factual Lady and My Charmian, who came back to win her next start. Beezer, third behind Vaca City Flyer in their last start, came back to win Sunday.

Vaca City Flyer will be meeting stakes winner Yerevan Star; Candi's Treasure, making her first start since an April 28 victory; and consistent Icy Choice, second to Factual Lady and stakes winner Lyin Goddess in her past two starts.

That's Our Tricky, who has been meeting stakes rivals back East, returns to California. She is 2 for 4 over the track, including a 4 1/2-length victory in her last start here two years ago. In her last northern California start, in May 2003, she dead-heated with Bear Fan at Bay Meadows.

Juveniles impress over weekend

A pair of 2-year-old stakes are scheduled for this weekend, with colts running in Saturday's six-furlong Golden Bear Stakes and fillies in Sunday's six-furlong Piedmont. Both are $50,000-added overnight stakes.

Seven were nominated to each race, including stakes winners Wind Water, Beat the Chalk, and Senor Fango in the Golden Bear and Tense Wager in the Piedmont.

But the year's two most impressive 2-year-olds in northern California will not be running. Both ran Sunday.

Trolley Belle and Lost in the Fog each scored a wire-to-wire debut victory. Russell Baze, who won with his first five mounts on Sunday, rode both.

Trolley Belle, a daughter of millionaire Grade 1 winner Unbridled's Song, won a five-furlong race, romping home nine lengths in front of Lady Woodman in 58.55 seconds without ever being asked. He is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer.

Lost in the Fog, a son of Grade 3 winner Lost Soldier, was even more impressive, covering five furlongs in 56.84 seconds, beating Irish Immigrant by 7 1/2 lengths. Trained by Gilchrist, Lost in the Fog also won without being asked.