Swiss Lake Yodeler gives Hollendorfer meet record in Soviet Problem

Hollendorfer entered Hollywood Park’s record books with his seventh autumn-meet stakes winner (Benoit Photos)

Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Williams’ homebred Swiss Lake
Yodeler made her first and last start at Hollywood Park on Saturday a winning
one, taking the $200,250
Soviet Problem by a length as the 4-5 favorite.

The victory in the race restricted to two-year-old fillies
bred or sired in California enabled Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer to
establish an autumn meet record. It was the seventh
stakes success of the season for Hollendorfer, bettering the mark of six
originally set by Hall of Famer Charlie Whittingham in 1984.

“(Whittingham) has been an idol of mine from the very
beginning,” Hollendorfer admitted. “When I came on the racetrack, everybody in the
world knew his name. I’m pleased to break any kind of record he ever held. I’m
very humble and grateful.

“Considering this is the end (of Hollywood Park) makes me sad, but I’ve had a
lot of good luck here and won a lot races. I’m going to be sorry to see
Hollywood Park go,” he added.

Swiss Lake Yodeler, who earned her initial win against $32,000 maidens for
trainer Mike Pender at the Barretts Race Meet at Fairplex on
September 6, tracked the pace from the outside for most of the way. She went
three wide into the stretch and rallied inside the final sixteenth to wear down 23-1 shot Rovenna
and prove best in her synthetic track debut.

Swiss Lake Yodeler shone bright in the Soviet Problem under Hollywood’s lights (Benoit Photos)

“I think (Swiss Lake Yodeler) wants more ground,” Hollendorfer remarked.
“I wasn’t
sure she was going to get there, but she kicked it in late. (Bejarano) just has
a magical way of getting the job done. Seven furlongs might have been a little
short for her.”

Bejarano agreed.

“On the turn, she looked like she was going to get a little tired, especially
because the speed hasn’t been stopping,” he explained. “It looked like Rovenna
had something left, so I had to work hard to make sure she wouldn’t get away.
(Swiss Lake Yodeler) doesn’t have that quick acceleration, but she always tries.
She’ll do better in longer races.”

The bay daughter of Swiss Yodeler won her second in a row and for the third
time in four starts, with her only loss a neck second against allowance rivals
at Santa Anita. She nearly doubled her lifetime earnings to $235,600 with the
score, which was her second stakes after capturing the Golden State Juvenile
Fillies on the Breeders’ Cup Friday undercard.