Fourth Of July Action At Hollywood Park Begins Friday Night With Flawlessly Stakes

Racing News
Posted 07.01.09 at 2:16

Strawberry Tart winning the Manhattan Beach Stakes at odds of 13-1 in early June. © BENOIT PHOTO

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (July 1, 2009) ― The Fourth of July weekend begins with night racing and a field of 12 closely-matched 3-year-old fillies in the ninth running of the $100,000 Flawlessly Stakes on Friday at Hollywood Park.

The Flawlessly, at one mile on the Lakeside Turf Course, will run as the seventh race on the eight-race progam which begins at 7:05 p.m.

Strawberry Tart, owned by George and Mary Clare Schmitt and trained by Jeff Bonde, will aim for her second straight stakes win while traversing two turns for the first time in the Flawlessly. The daughter of Atticus won the six-furlong Manhattan Beach Stakes here at odds of 13.50 to the dollar in early June.

Strawberry Tart, a winner of three of five starts, will have her work cut out in the Flawlessly, which will line up as follows from the rail out if all 12 fillies start:

Oilgonewile, with Joseph Talamo up, carries 121 pounds; Jehan, Joel Rosario, 115; Strawberry Tart, Martin Garcia, 115; Minute Limit, Garrett Gomez, 115; Maid For Music, Michael Baze, 117; Ocean Style, David Flores, 117; Dash Dot Dash, Brice Blanc, 117; Burg Berg, Aaron Gryder, 119; Madeline Ruby, Martin Pedroza, 117; Pretty Unusual, Tyler Baze, 123; Starlarks, Alex Solis, 117, and Eloquently, Rafael Bejarano, 117.

Oilgonewile, the richest filly in the field, won a pair of minor stakes in Florida before coming to the Mike Mitchell stable. She has won three of 12 starts for earnings of $160,306 with her biggest paycheck coming in January when she won the $100,000 Sweet Chant Stakes at one mile on turf at Gulfstream Park.

Mitchell will also saddle Zayat Stables’ Jehan, who finished second, 2 ½ lengths back of Strawberry Tart in the Manhattan Beach. The daughter of Forest Wildcat has won two of 11 starts while finishing in the money eight times.

Pretty Unusual, the race high weight, is also invited to Sunday’s $700,000 American Oaks. Winner of the Melair here in April, the daughter of Unusual Heat finished fifth while traveling 1 1/8 miles in her lone turf start. She has won two of six starts for earnings of $147,152.

Starlarks scored a game front-running allowance win at 1 1/16 miles here on turf in May, holding on to beat fellow Flawlessly entrant Minute Limit by a nose. The latter picks up the services of two-time Eclipse-Award winning jockey Gomez in her second North American start.

Eloquently, a stablemate of Minute Limit, will also be making her second North American start as trainer John Sadler also has two entrants. A winner of her only European start last October on polytrack at Wolverhampton, she finished third in the Miesque here in November.

Maid For Music and Ocean Style, stablemates in the Jim Cassidy barn, each have a pair of victories. Maid For Music won the Golden Poppy at Golden Gate Fields in Apirl before finishing eighth in the Honeymoon Handicap here in May. Ocean Style, who has been training sharply, won a 1 1/16-mile allowance race on turf here two starts back.

Burg Berg, a winner of three of seven starts for trainer Paco Gonzalez, enters following an allowance victory here on turf at 1 1/16 miles. The daughter of Johannesburg has won twice in four starts on turf.

Dash Dot Dash, winner of two stakes last summer at Fairplex Park, has been running with graded company, finishing seventh in the Senorita and sixth in the Honeymoon Handicap.

Madeline Ruby broke her maiden when shifted to turf in her fifth career start here in May. She finished fifth behind Starlarks and Minute Limit in her last start.

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