Photo: Hollywood Park
Really Mr Greely, the longest price of the four 2-year-olds Hall of
Fame trainer Bob Baffert started in the $100,000 Hollywood Prevue
Stakes, led throughout to win the Grade
III Thursday at Betfair Hollywood Park.
Ridden by Julien Leparoux, the Horse Greeley colt established
command immediately, relaxed through a moderate 46.31 half mile and had
enough left to hold off favored Super Ninety Nine by a half-length.
The final time for the seven furlongs over Cushion Track was
1:22.84. Dismissed at 11-1 in the field of five, Really Mr Greely, who
is out of the Forest Camp mare Mattie Camp, paid $24.60, $7.20 and
$2.80.
Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, Really Mr Greely
won for the second time in three starts. The $60,000 payday pushed his
earnings to $85,620. The Prevue win came 18 days after he had defeated
$100,000 maidens by 7 ½ lengths at Santa Anita.
The victory was a record sixth in the Prevue for Baffert and his
second in a row, following So Brilliant’s half-length decision in 2011.
The 4-5 favorite on the strength of a debut win Oct. 7, Super Ninety
Nine finished a neck in front of 2-1 second choice Shakin It Up. Super
Ninety Nine returned $2.80 and $2.10 while the show price on Shakin It
Up was $2.10.
Z Big Apple completed a Baffert sweep of the top four spots as he
finished 1 ¼ lengths behind Shakin It Up and 3 ¾ lengths in front of the
filly Heir Kitty, who is trained by Peter Miller.
“He broke sharp,’’ said Leparoux. “I wanted to be on the lead. He
relaxed well and left me alone, which was beautiful, and when I asked
him to go he answered nice.
“At the three-eighths pole, I felt they were coming at me, so I asked him to start going and he never really stopped.’’
The Pegram-Watson-Weitman partnership and Baffert also won the day’s third race with Fiftyshadesofhay.
Thanks to the victories, Baffert moved into a tie with John Sadler
atop the trainer standings. Through nine days of the Autumm meet,
Baffert and Sadler each have six wins, one more than Hall of Famer Jerry
Hollendorfer.
Trainers Curtis Harvey and Angel Rodriguez celebrated Thanksgiving
by collecting their first wins at Betfair Hollywood Park. Harvey won the
fifth with Beau Royale while Rodriguez took the sixth with Private
Affair.