Dayatthespa, who has won five in a
row at three different tracks, will try to keep her streak alive in the
$250,000 Matriarch Sunday at Betfair Hollywood Park.
The one mile event for older fillies
and mares is part of a Grade I grass doubleheader on the final day of the Turf
Festival.
The 10 race program also includes
the $250,000 Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 ¼ miles.
Trained by Chad Brown for a
partnership that includes Jerry and Ronald Frankel, Steve Laymon and Bradley
Thoroughbreds, Dayatthespa is perfect in 2012, winning twice at Gulfstream Park
and Keeneland and once at Saratoga.
Three of the victories for the
daughter of City Zip and the Doc’s Leader mare M’Lady Doc have been in graded
races, capped by a two length score in the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Cup Oct.
13 at Keeneland.
If successful Sunday, Dayatthespa
could become the seventh 3-year-old to win the Matriarch and second in a row,
following Star Billing, the upset winner in 2011.
A New York bred, Dayatthespa has won six of eight – all on grass – and earned
$574,892.
Star Billing and Summer Soiree, the 1-2 finishers a year ago, are back for,
respectively, trainers John Shirreffs and H. Graham Motion.
Owned by breeder George Krikorian,
Star Billing is trying to become only the second two time winner of the
Matriarch, joining Flawlessly, who won the race three times in succession
(1991-93).
A daughter of Dynaformer and the
Thunder Gulch mare Topliner, Star Billing is winless in four races since her
10-1 surprise in the Matriarch, most recently finishing eighth in the Grade I
Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf Nov. 2 at Santa Anita. She’s won three of 11
in her career and banked $415,067.
Owned by Team Valor International,
Summer Soiree has started only twice since her half-length defeat in the
Matriarch. The 4-year-old War Front filly out of the Mazel Trick mare Mazel Tov
was third in the Grade II Ballston Spa Aug. 25 at Saratoga before finishing
fourth in the Grade I First Lady – at the Matriarch distance – Oct. 6 at
Keeneland.
A winner of four of seven in 2011 –
including the Grade I Del Mar Oaks – Summer Soiree has earned $476,180 in a
career that features five victories in 15 outings.
Trainer Dermot Weld and jockey
Patrick Smullen, who won the 2002 Matriarch with Dress to Thrill, are back for
another shot with Emulous.
A 5-year-old daughter of Dansili and
the Distant View mare Aspiring Diva, Emulous has won six of 12 for
owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms and banked $491,182. Juddmonte
has won the Matriarch six times – more than any other owner – and the latest
was with Ventura in 2009.
Ventura’s win came shortly after the
death of Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel – who won the Matriach a record
eight times – and it was one of his final wishes that she make the final start
of her career in the race.
Future Generation will be seeking
her third win in four starts in the U.S. for owners George Bolton and Peter
Leidel and trainer Christophe Clement.
An Irish bred daughter of Hurricane
Run and the Indian Ridge mare Posterity, Future Generation is 6-for-13 lifetime
with earnings of $239,380. The 4-year-old was last seen winning the Serena’s
Cat by 5 ¾ lengths Oct. 25 at Belmont Park.
Vamo a Galupiar will try to rebound
after finishing last of 13 in the E.P. Taylor Oct. 14 at Woodbine. The Chilean
bred mare has won five of 10 and earned $190,920.
Owned by Robert S. Evans and trained
by Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale, Vamo a Galupiar is a 5-year-old daughter of
Proud Citizen and the Special Quest mare Afirmate Catalina. Both of her 2012
have come at Santa Anita – the Megahertz Stakes Jan. 21 and the Grade II Santa
Ana March 25.
Better Lucky will make her
California debut for Godolphin Racing LLC and trainer Tom Albertrani after
finishing third in the QE II Cup, beaten 2 ½ lengths by Dayattthespa.
A 3-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper
and the Seeking the Gold mare Sahara Gold, Better Lucky has won three of eight
and banked $288,950.
Tiz Flirtatious will make only her
second start outside the California bred ranks for owner-breeder Pamela
Ziebarth and trainer Marty Jones.
The 4-year-old Tizbud filly out of
the Victory Gallop mare Masquerade Belle has won four of five and earned
$194,800. Her lone defeat was a third in the Grade II La Canada Stakes Jan. 22
at Santa Anita.
Both Better Lucky and Tiz
Flirtatious were late nominees – at a cost of $5,000 – to the Matriarch.
From inside out, the field for the
Matriarch: Tiz Flirtatious, Rafael Bejarano rides, 123 pounds; Emulous, Patrick
Smullen, 123; Vamo a Galupiar, Mike Smith, 123; Better Lucky, Eddie Castro,
120; Dayatthespa, Javier Castellano, 120; Star Billing, Victor Espinoza, 123;
Summer Soiree, Gabriel Saez, 123 and Future Generation, Ramon Dominguez, 123.