Three weeks after suffering her first defeat in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT), Flashy Ways will try to redeem herself in the $100,000 Miesque Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Betfair Hollywood Park Nov. 24.
The Miesque, for 2-year-old fillies, shares top billing on the second day of Hollywood's Turf Festival with the Generous Stakes, also for 2-year-olds. The Miesque, at one mile on grass, is race 9 with a 4:35 p.m. post.
Trained by Richard Baltas for Riley Racing Stables, Flashy Ways was a 2 1/2-length winner of the Surfer Girl Stakes Oct. 8 on the turf at Santa Anita Park. She graduated at first asking on Polytrack at Del Mar Aug. 16.
In the Juvenile Fillies Turf, the Catienus filly out of the Carson City mare Golden Kitty was close to the leaders while racing on the outside at odds of 7-1, but was forced to steady at the sixteenth pole. She backed out of it quickly after that and wound up 11th of 14, 6 1/4 lengths behind the victorious Flotilla.
Both the Surfer Girl and the Juvenile Fillies Turf were contested at the Miesque's one-mile distance.
Trainer John Sadler, who has a strong hand in the Generous with Rising Legend and Under Review, could be going for a sweep of the juvenile grass stakes with Pussycat Lips.
Pussycat Lips will make her first start in the United States in her initial try for Sadler and Hronis Racing after winning one of two starts in her native Ireland. The daughter of Holy Roman Emperor and the Sadler’s Wells mare On The Nile won by 3 1/4 lengths over maidens July 16 at Kilarney after finishing third in her June 27 bow.
There are two other Irish-bred fillies in the field, Premier Steps and Redressthebalance.
Chad Brown, a former assistant to the late Bobby Frankel and one of the rising training stars in Thoroughbred racing, will be represented by Premier Steps, who is owned by Swift Thoroughbreds.
The daughter of Footstepsinthesand won once in five tries in France and England. In her most recent start Aug. 18, Premier Steps was beaten by a neck while finishing in a dead heat for second in a group III event at Deauville.
Rutherford Group's Redressthebalance, making her first start for trainer Doug O'Neill, won her first two races in England but was off the board in four subsequent tries, three of them in group III company.
O'Neill also entered Birdlover, another privately purchased filly that won once in three outings in her native England.
Miss Empire enters off a stakes win in her turf debut for owners Gary and Cecil Barber and Kevin Tsujihara and trainer Peter Miller. The daughter of Empire Maker and the Rajab mare Miss Excitement won the Pike Place Dancer by a neck as the 1-2 favorite Oct. 27 at Golden Gate Fields, snapping a four-race losing streak.
The victory was the second in seven outings for Miss Empire and increased her bankroll to $207,120. Her first win came in the Cinderella Stakes June 16 during Hollywood's spring/summer meet.
The close runner-up in the Pike Place Dancer, Butterfly Soul, also is part of the Miesque cast. The New York-bred daughter of Henny Hughes is owned by Johnny Taboada and trained by Genaro Vallejo.
Five of the nine fillies in this year's Miesque will race without Lasix. They are Birdlover, Premier Steps, Pussycat Lips, Redressthebalance, and Flashy Ways.
$1000,000 Miesque Stakes (gr. IIIT, Race 9, 4:35 p.m.), 2YO Fillies, 1 Mile (Turf)
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Somethingabouther (KY), M E Smith, 116, J M Cassidy
2. Travesura (KY), T Baze, 116, J Mullins
3. Birdlover (GB), E A Maldonado, 116, D F O'Neill
4. Miss Empire (KY), C S Nakatani, 122, P Miller
5. Premier Steps (IRE), J R Leparoux, 116, C C Brown
6. Butterfly Soul (NY), J J Hernandez, 118, G Vallejo
7. Pussycat Lips (IRE), G K Gomez, 116, J W Sadler
8. Redressthebalance (IRE), R Bejarano, 118, D F O'Neill
9. Flashy Ways (KY), J Talamo, 122, R Baltas
Flashy Ways was a 2 1/2-length winner of the Surfer Girl Stakes Oct. 8.
Benoit Photography