Final Race of 2008 for Juvenile Fillies: Hollywood Starlet Stakes

by Patricia Woo | Dec 10 2008

Your last chance to check out some of the best up-and-coming 2-year-old fillies this year is in the $250,000 Hollywood Starlet Stakes on Saturday, Dec. 13.

Don't miss out on your final chance to see some of the most promising up-and-coming 2-year-old fillies this year – check out the $250,000 Gr. 1 Hollywood Starlet Stakes on Saturday, Dec. 13, and get a head start on your handicapping for the 2009 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. The Hollywood Starlet Stakes is an 8.5-furlong race on Cushion Track at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., and Alpha Kitten, Laragh and Pamona Ball are among those expected.

Alpha Kitten is the likely race favorite. This John Sadler trainee was to be ridden by Tyler Baze, who had been enjoying a string of wins at Hollywood Park before suffering rib injuries in a fall during a race earlier this week. So Mike Smith – who has experience riding top fillies in big races, such as Stardom Bound and Zenyatta in this year's Breeders' Cup – will get the mount. Alpha Kitten will be pushing her own distance limits – this will be the first time she will be racing further than six furlongs. But this speedy daughter of Tale of the Cat can rally, as evidenced by her eight-length gain from the quarter pole to the finish line in her career debut and maiden-breaking win at Del Mar in August. She was beaten by just one length in the $75,000 Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita in October and will be looking to improve.

Laragh, winner of the $150,000 JP Morgan Chase Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland in October, is making the trip to Inglewood, Calif., from New York and will be another filly to watch. Trained by John Terranova II and preferring to race from the front of the pack, this 2-year-old broke her maiden on Polytrack at Woodbine. Most recently, she finished third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies event, behind Maram and Heart Shaped; after setting a furious pace, she faded before the wire. Laragh's regular rider, Edgar Prado, will be aboard for the Hollywood Starlet Stakes.

The Eoin Harty-trained Pamona Ball has had recent success at Hollywood Park and its Cushion Track surface. She won the Sharp Cat Stakes at Hollywood Park on Nov. 1 in what was her first graded stakes race. Eight-and-a-half furlongs seems to be the magic number for Pamona Ball, as her two career wins have been at that distance. In a recent workout at Santa Anita Park, she ran five furlongs in 1:01.20. Rafael Bejarano, who was aboard for Pamona Ball's Sharp Cat Stakes win, will again get the mount.
Other nominees include Dave's Revenge, Toro Bonito and Wynning Ride.

Think you know who will win the $250,000 Hollywood Starlet Stakes? Bet on horse racing at the Bodog Racebook.