Washington Bridge scores in Bayakoa

Washington Bridge was sent off the 5-1 fourth choice in the

seven-horse field, paying $12, $6.40 and $4.40, while Sister Dawn was

worth $13.40 and $7 as the 12-1 longest shot on the board. The duo

comprised the $73.80 exacta ($1), while Zardana (Brz) (Crimson Tide)

completed the $282.90 trifecta ($1) when crossing under the wire a

length back of Sister Dawn. Zardana, the defending champion of the

Bayakoa, gave back $3.20 as the near 5-2 favorite, and it was another 1

1/4 lengths back to Silver Swallow (Alphabet Soup), who finished the

7-2-3-4 superfecta ($1) that totaled $1,712.20.

"You know what, I thought I had it at the quarter-pole," said Alonzo

Quinonez, who was aboard Sister Dawn. "The winner was just too wide and my filly

didn't see her coming. If she would have been closer to me, I think my filly

would have made it tougher on the other one."

Wynning Ride (Candy Ride [Arg]), Sweet August Moon (Malibu Moon) and Lady

Railrider followed the top four under the line after It Tiz (Tiznow) was an

early scratch.

The Hollendorfer-trained Washington Bridge entered the Bayakoa off a 2

1/4-length victory in the Life is Sweet S. at Hollywood on November 12. That

followed an allowance win over the Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields, and the bay

filly's only other win this year also came at Golden Gate in an optional claimer

on February 7. Unplaced in all other previous tries against black-type company,

Washington Bridge appears to have turned a corner, having now won three straight

races including two stakes. Her record reads 18-5-4-0 and she boosted her

earnings to $221,089 with this score.

"Sometimes the horse gets the idea, turns around and starts doing things

right. This is the third time in a row that she put it all together,"

Hollendorfer said. "She was very nervous earlier in her career but she's settled

down quite a bit lately. We just took our time, schooled her a lot and stood her

at the gate a lot. The way that Rafael was riding her, I thought when he was

sitting back there that he felt quite confident. Once she unleashed her run she

had a nice turn of foot.

"For now we'll probably keep her and Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision)

separated," Hollendorfer added.

Bred by Brereton C. Jones in Kentucky, the sophomore miss passed through the

Keeneland sales ring twice without selling either time. She RNAed for $24,000 as

a November weanling and returned as a September yearling to RNA once again for

$23,000. Out of multiple stakes winner Stirling Bridge (Prized), Washington

Bridge is a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Fire Path (Tale of the Cat), stakes

victress Noble Bandit (Cat Thief), the yearling William Wallace (The Daddy) and

an unnamed weanling by Stevie Wonderboy.

Stirling Bridge is herself a daughter of Grade 3 heroine Early Lunch (Noble

Table), and this is the same family as French One Thousand Guineas scorer Yla (*Migoli)

and Grade 1-winning sire Mehmet (His Majesty).