Thegirlinthatsong targets first graded stakes win in La Canada

ARCADIA, Calif. – Thegirlinthatsong, a 4-year-old filly trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, has enhanced her reputation as she moves farther west.

A stakes winner as a 2-year-old at Louisiana Downs in 2013, Thegirlinthatsong won a stakes for Texas-breds at Lone Star Park last May. In November, in her fourth start for Hollendorfer, Thegirlinthatsong was second in the richest race of her career, the $309,000 Zia Park Oaks in New Mexico.

On Saturday, Thegirlinthatsong can win her first graded stakes in the $200,000 La Canada Stakes for 4-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.

Co-owned by Peter and Tim Russo, Daniel Gatto, and Hollendorfer, Thegirlinthatsong was purchased privately last summer. She was third in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar last August and later second in the Remington Park Oaks in Oklahoma.

In the Zia Park Oaks, Thegirlinthatsong was fifth early and was beaten 4 1/2 lengths by Cassatt. On Dec. 21, Cassatt won the third stakes of her career in the Tiffany Lass Stakes at Fair Grounds.

“She ran against a good horse back there,” Hollendorfer said of the Zia Park race. “We think she’s okay.”

Thegirlinthatsong has something to prove in the 1 1/16-mile La Canada, having not won beyond a mile. Both of her stakes wins – the Happy Ticket Stakes on turf at Louisiana Downs and the fillies’ division of the Texas Stallion Stakes on dirt at Lone Star Park – were at a mile.

The Grade 2 La Canada Stakes will be the 19th start of a career in which she has won four times and earned $287,695. Whether she can progress to a start against older fillies and mares in important races such as the $200,000 Santa Maria Stakes on Feb. 14 or the $350,000 Santa Margarita Stakes on March 14 depends on Saturday’s performance.

“I don’t want to speculate on that,” said Hollendorfer.

Hollendorfer said Sam’s Sister, the winner of the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies over seven furlongs Dec. 26, will be entered for the La Canada but remains under consideration for the $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes over seven furlongs Monday.

The La Canada field is led by Lexie Lou, the winner of the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine last July and the runner-up to California Chrome in the Hollywood Derby on turf Nov. 29 at Del Mar. Other projected starters are Colonel Joan, Fleet of Gold, Jojo Warrior, Ramona’s Wildcat, and Une Cherise.

Mutuel handle down slightly

Mutuel handle fell less than 1 percent on California Thoroughbred races in 2014, according to figures compiled by the California Horse Racing Board.

Handle on Thoroughbred racing was $2,771,232,849 in 2014, a decline of 0.48 percent from the 2013 figure of $2,784,725,473. With nighttime betting from harness and Quarter Horse racing included, all wagering in California declined 1.3 percent in 2014 to $3,055,644,300.

Handle figures were down in December. Going into the month, handle on all racing in the state was up 0.7 percent from 2013, according to comments racing board executive director Rick Baedeker made in December. In December, handle at all venues was $174,656,244, a decline of 19.4 percent from 2013. The Thoroughbred handle was down 21.8 percent to $150.3 million.

The difference largely was caused by the absence of Hollywood Park, which closed in late 2013. Hollywood Park was replaced on the Thoroughbred calendar by Los Alamitos, which did not handle as much as Hollywood Park.

Figures for 2015 will not be as strong in the state. Santa Anita hosted the Breeders’ Cup races for the third consecutive year in 2014. The series moves to Keeneland in October.