Swiss Please has edge in experience

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - If there is a faster 2-year-old filly than Swiss Please in the $75,000 Nursery Stakes on Sunday at Hollywood Park, she is well hidden. There is an overflow number of entrants in the five-furlong Nursery, the first juvenile stakes of the year in Southern California, and one in which Swiss Please is the rightful favorite.

scored a sharp win in her April 28 debut at 4 1/2 furlongs for Mike Harrington, who is the trainer, co-breeder, and co-owner of the filly.

"It didn't surprise me she was talented - she's a sister and a half-sister to two stakes winners," he said. "I was surprised she showed speed."

Sired by Swiss Yodeler, Swiss Please is a full sister to Dave the Dude, and a half to Sharper Too, colts who won California-bred juvenile stakes. Until her final pre-debut workout, Swiss Please had shown little speed. "She takes off easy and has a big kick," Harrington said.

Three days before her debut, Swiss Please did something new, zipping three furlongs in a quick 34.40 seconds. She produced that speed again in the race.

Starting from post 9, Swiss Please led gate to wire in a decent clocking of 51.89. Swiss Please earned a modest 68 Beyer Speed Figure. She will be ridden again by David Neusch.

The filly has one recorded work since she raced, but Harrington said that an additional half-mile workout on May 6 did not make the work tab.

Harrington will not be concerned if Swiss Please is outrun early. "She wants to be a closer; she's got dimensions that we haven't seen," Harrington said.

Swiss Please may require a 12-point improvement to win - the median winning Beyer in the Nursery the past eight years is 80. But Swiss Please does have fundamental attributes her rivals lack, including experience.

Eight of the Nursery entrants are first-time starters or maidens, an unusual placement. A maiden that wins would forfeit the first two eligibility conditions - maiden and one-other-than allowance. Nevertheless, several fast-working fillies will attract support, including Bella Banissa, Fortunate Event, and Princess Godiva. While the firsters may be talented, a leap of faith is required to wager that they are good enough to handle winners first out.

Trainer Jerry Dutton, a four-time winner of the Nursery Stakes, starts Rents Due. A gray filly by Renteria, she finished second in a pair of two-furlong races at Santa Anita before winning a 4 1/2-furlong race April 22 with a 55 Beyer. Double D Appeal beat Rents Due on April 7, and has worked well for her first try around a turn.