Killer Graces pummeled the Hollywood Starlet protagonists with an awesome performance on top of the lane
The juvenile filly, Killer Graces, with the most starts under her belt in the field used all her experience to outfox the favourites to win the Grade 1, $402,000 Hollywood Starlet over at Hollywood Park’s cushion track on 10 December, 2011.
The race was strictly restricted for 2-year-old fillies and six fillies participated in the 1 1/16 mile even, as Killer Graces being the outsider got hold of the lead near the mid-stretch to keep, Charm the Maker, at bay as the Jerry Hollendorfer trained filly powered down the stretch like a locomotive to win the grade 1 event.
This was Killer Graces’s first Grade 1 win, and she was rightly sent off as the 14 to 1 shot. In the process, the filly gave the Hall of Fame trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer, his second Starlet victory in the past three years. He won the 2009 edition of the Hollywood Starlet with Blind Luck.
Jockey Joe Talamo, who has ridden Killer Graces in 6 races out of her 8 career starts confidently guided her to a half length victory over the ever so threatening, Charm the Maker.
Weemissfrankie and Self Preservation were the two fillies who were thought to make an impact in the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet, but both fillies never found their stride as they weakened far too early to finish 4th and 5th respectively, in the field of 6 runners.
The daughter of Congaree, out of mare Heatherdoesntbluff by Old Trieste, Killer Graces seems to love the Hollywood Park’s cushion track because she has raced on it 5 times and she hasn’t finished worst than 2nd there. Winning 3 and finishing second on two occasions.
“I think she kind of likes Hollywood Park," Hollendorfer said. "She’s done very well here. Now we have to get her to carry it over to another track. She was down on the inside last time (when second in the Sharp Cat) and I don’t think that helped her very much. She was in the clear today and I think that might have helped us a little."
It was a brilliant race run by Killer Graces, considering the competition that she had to contend and with it she has shot her winnings up to 4 for her debut season.
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