Hollywood Juvenile Championship

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Saturday's Hollywood Juvenile Championship S. (G3), the first stakes race of

the year for two-year-olds in Southern California, is essentially a match race

between WHAT A SONG (Songandaprayer) and BASHERT (Tiger Ridge), the two most

impressive juvenile winners at Hollywood Park. What a Song easily rates our top

choice despite running two-fifths of a second slower than his primary rival last

out.

Trained by Bob Baffert, What a Song stalked the early pace from the outside,

took the lead in hand turning for home, then easily drew clear under little, if

any, encouragement to win going away by 3 1/4 lengths when unveiled on June 18.

The dark bay colt, who topped the Barretts March sale at $1.9 million, ran the 5

1/2-furlong distance in 1:03 4/5 while earning a 103 BRIS Speed rating. He is

drawn to the immediate inside of Bashert and should be able to save some ground

around the turn.

Bashert, a $110,000 Keeneland September purchase, dueled from the outside,

took the lead at will around the turn, then drew clear under mild encouragement

to break his maiden in his second outing by five lengths while running just a

tad green. The bay colt ran 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03 2/5, good for a 101 Speed

rating, and the runner-up, Dark Nose (Bertrando), came back to win by

open-lengths next out.

These two are hard to separate, but we just liked the way What a Song looked.

STEVIE WONDERBOY (Stephen Got Even), owned by entertainment mogul Merv

Griffin, split horses near the half-mile marker, advanced from the inside around

the turn, then finished well for second while no threat to our top choice in his

debut. He should fill out the tri.

DOUBLE PARKED  (Ecton Park) and BLAZE IT (What A Spell) each broke their

maidens for a $40,000 tag last out and are overmatched here.