Sharp Cat Stakes at Hollywood Park

We’re moving ever closer to the permanent end of racing at historic Hollywood Park, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still a few prime stakes races to run. One of those will go Saturday afternoon when a compact field of six are expected to go to the gate for the $100,000 Sharp Cat Stakes for juvenile fillies covering 1 1/16 miles on the synthetic track. The race will be a rematch of two Bob Baffert-trained entries in Georgia and Be Proud, who met last time in a maiden special weight event at Santa Anita in September, with Georgia finishing on top.

Georgia clear favorite after last winning effort

Off that result, Georgia will go the Sharp Cat gate as the 7-5 morning line choice. Also the favorite in their first meeting, Georgia went wire-to-wire for the win, making a strong move in the third-quarter of the one-mile race to eventually claim a four-length victory. Although Be Proud, second choice here at 2-1, dueled with her stablemate early on, she simply could not keep up, and chased Georgia to the wire, holding on by 1 1/2 lengths over a fast closing Arethusa.  She’s also in this, as a co-second 6-1 choice, and is hoping the added ground will make a difference.

Pleasant Miss hoping experience will count

The most experienced filly in the field with seven lifetime starts is Pleasant Miss (6-1), who has run in five stakes races so far this year with four in-the-money finishes, although she has yet to score a second win since breaking her maiden in her very first start at Hollywood Park back in May. She has most recently been running at a mile distance on the turf, so is looking for better results with both a switch in distance and surface. Rounding out the field are the Louisiana-bred Perched (10-1), winless in five lifetime, and Saintly Joan (6-1), making only her third lifetime start.