Magdalena Racing’s Pure Fun came widest of all around the final turn in
Gomez settled Pure Fun in the back of the pack while Blonde Fog and Rhodium
Meanwhile, Pure Fun was still biding her time running well back in last. The
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“She jumped away well, but I was a little bit concerned because she was not
traveling her best around the first turn,” Gomez explained. “About halfway down
the backside, she started figuring it out and when I wheeled her out she was
really accelerating. She took off and was very impressive.”
Blonde Fog nearly pulled out the win in her stakes debut to make it two
straight following a 12 1/2-length triumph in her maiden debut at Santa Anita on
October 28. The bay lass just wasn’t able to withstand the late rally from Pure
Fun, though, but was best of the rest while two lengths in front of Scarlet Strike
in third.
“She ran a big race. Those were some nice fillies she ran against and I think
she’s going to improve a lot next time,” said Martin Garcia, who just missed
taking both graded events at Hollywood on Saturday when Blonde Fog ran second.
Executiveprivilege, who up until the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last out
was unbeaten with a pair of Grade 1 victories, was fourth under the wire.
“Extremely disappointed,” jockey Mike Smith stated after Executiveprivilege’s third-placing.
“I had a beautiful trip, but she got her head way up and did not menace. I just
hope everything is OK with her after the race.”
“(Executiveprivilege) didn’t punch,” trainer Bob Baffert
remarked. “The winner ran a good race and my other filly (Blonde Fog) ran a good
race.
“On the turn for home I saw (Executiveprivilege) was struggling a little bit.
She felt fine for (Smith), but when she turned for home, she put her head up a
bit and just had no zip.”
Midnight Ballet, Renee’s Titan, Miss Empire and Rhodium completed the order
under the wire.
Pure Fun shipped into California from Kentucky, where she just captured a
one-mile optional claimer at Churchill Downs by 9 1/4 lengths. That was only her
second start on a dirt track as the Pure Prize filly had spent her five races
prior to that competing on turf. She broke her maiden at Kentucky Downs in
mid-September, before finishing seventh, beaten just 1 1/4 lengths, in the Grade
3 Jessamine over Keeneland’s grass one month later.
“She was a little bit further back than I thought she was
going to be,” assistant trainer Matt Shirer admitted about the Starlet.
“(Gomez) said he asked her to go around the three-eighths
pole and she gave him a little. Then by about the quarter-pole she really kicked
it in. All the sudden she gave a great burst of energy about six or seven wide
around all those horses. In (her last race in) Kentucky it was the same kind of
thing — around the quarter-pole she came flying.”
Pure Fun definitely took to the synthetic track at Hollywood, and now shows
an 8-3-1-1 career line while her lifetime earnings skyrocketed to $343,599.
“She’s probably going to stay here for about a week, then she will fly back
to Lexington,” Shirer added. “She’ll go to the farm for a little bit
and most likely be pointed toward the (Grade 1 Kentucky) Oaks.”
Bred in Kentucky by Royal Oak Farm LLC, Pure Fun was a $5,000 Keeneland
November RNA as a weanling before selling for $22,000 as a Keeneland September
yearling. She is out of the winning Key to the Mint mare Chelsea Green, who also
produced dual stakes-placed filly Lady Cheyne.
Chelsea Green is herself out of stakes-placed winner Chelseanna, making her a
half-sister to Gorky and Golden Spirit, both stakes-placed, as well as
black-type winner Lady Tap, who is the dam of Grade 3-placed stakes victress
Lady’s Laughter. Chelsea Green is also a half-sister to the dam of Grade 1 diva
Chelsey Flower.
Others of note in this female family include dual Canadian champions
Scotzanna and Par Excellance.
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