Photo: Hollywood Park
The $100,000 Grade III Lazaro Barrera Memorial Stakes
for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs Saturday honors the Hall of Fame trainer who
conditioned Affirmed.
Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer hopes the race will also
honor the memory of Skip Away, who died Friday in Kentucky,
through his son, Skipshot.
“He worked seven furlongs in 1:24 and three this
morning with the exercise rider (Marco Ramirez),” said Hollendorfer of the
chestnut colt who won three straight races at Golden Gate Fields before
finishing fifth in the Santa Anita Derby. Rafael Bejarano has the stakes call.
Other probable starters include Big Man Has a Sign
(Martin Pedroza), Domonation (Joel Rosario), Smiling Tiger (Victor Espinoza)
and Working Capital (Tyler Baze). Domonation worked a bullet six furlongs in
1:12.40 for the John Sadler stable.
Concord Point from the red-hot Bob Baffert barn heads
a list of possibles that also includes stablemate Macias, Dixie Trouper, Gaelic
Glory, Hawaiian Springs, Just Magic, Killer Bear, Leaving New York and Mr Tokyo.
Skip Away died of a heart attack at age 17 at
Hopewell Farm, where he stood as a stallion. He won the 1997 Breeders’ Cup
Classic here and the 1998 Hollywood Gold Cup en route to Horse of the Year
honors. He won 18 of 38 starts and earned $9.6-million.