(from Hollywood Park)
The combination of trainer Mike Mitchell and jockey Garrett Gomez will aim for their second straight Moccasin Stakes victory at Hollywood Park Nov. 16 as unbeaten Mi Chiamano Mimi attempts to improve her winning streak to three in the $100,000 event for 2-year-old fillies.
Mitchell sent out Spring Awakening, with Gomez aboard, to win the seven-furlong Cushion Track race in a stakes record 1:21.33 in 2007. The victory was the 71st of the year for Gomez in a stakes. He went on to finish the year with 76, eclipsing Jerry Bailey’s record of 70 in 2003.
Mi Chiamano Mimi, owned by Nathaniel Friedman, was a 4 1/2-length winner while running for a claiming tag of $80,000 in her career debut Aug. 29 at Del Mar. She then won the six-furlong Anoakia in a swift 1:07 4/5 at Santa Anita Oct. 19.
The daughter of Came Home will face tough competition in the field of 11. Evita Argentina and Palacio de Amor both try to rebound following ninth and 13th-place finishes, respectively, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) Oct. 24 at Santa Anita.
Evita Argentina, a daughter of Candy Ride trained by John Sadler, is the lone graded winner in the Moccasin field. She won the Sorrento (gr. III) at Del Mar in her second start before finishing fourth in the Del Mar Debutante (gr. I).
Palacio de Amor, a Dixieland Band filly owned and trained by Myung Kwon Cho, finished second behind Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Stardom Bound in the Del Mar Debutante and the Oak Leaf (gr. I), but had a rough time of it in the Breeders' Cup. After a slightly slow break, she was stuck five wide while chasing the pace and weakened before the field reached the homestretch, fading to be last.
Pasar Silbano won four of six starts in Ireland for trainer Ger Lyons and his wife, Lynn, who made the trip here for the Moccasin. The filly, recently purchased from the couple by Three Chimneys Racing, will be transferred to trainer Jim Cassidy following the race. Her first two starts — both victories — were on the all weather track at Dundalk, Ireland.
Several others merit consideration in an evenly-matched field. Casino Gold was fourth in the Anoakia. Will O Way won her career debut at Calder before finishing third in the Del Mar Debutante and sixth in the Oak Leaf. Wind Caper aims for her second win in as many starts.
Malusita broke her maiden at Hollywood in June and seeks her second win in her seventh start; Montana Fields has won two of five starts; Wynning Ride attempts to keep her record perfect in her second start; and Moontune Missy tries to improve her record to two-for-three.
$100,000 Moccasin Stakes (Race 8, 4:05 p.m.), 2-Year-Old Fillies, 7 furlongs (All Weather)
PP. Horse, Weight, Jockey
1. Mi Chiamano Mimi (KY), 118, Garrett K. Gomez
2. Casino Gold (KY), 116, David R. Flores
3. Will O Way (KY), 116, Rafael Bejarano
4. Wind Caper (KY), 116, Jose Valdivia, Jr.
5. Malusita (KY), 116, Joel Rosario
6. Pasar Silbano (IRE), 120, Mike E. Smith
7. Montana Fields (VA), 118, Michael C. Baze
8. Evita Argentina (KY), 122, Tyler Baze
9. Palacio de Amor (KY), 116, Victor Espinoza
10. Wynning Ride (ON), 116, Joseph Talamo
11. Moontune Missy (KY), 116, Aaron T. Gryder