SATURDAY SURFER GIRL STAKES

MANDELLA’S PROMISING LUCKY FOLIE STRETCHES OUT OFF OF SOLID MAIDEN SCORE ON DIRT



Stakes winning Jakaby Jade heads a wide open field of 11 juvenile fillies in the $100,000 Surfer Girl Stakes at one mile on turf this Saturday at Santa Anita.

Trained by Doug O’Neill, the English-bred daughter of Royal Applause rallied from off the pace to take Del Mar’s one mile Juvenile Turf Stakes in her U.S. debut Sept. 7. Ridden by Flavien Prat, who is currently sidelined due to injury, Jakaby Jade will be handled by leading rider Rafael Bejarano in the Surfer Girl, which will be her fourth career start.

Owned by Slam Dunk Racing and Steven Keh, Jakaby Jade was off at 7-1 in the Juvenile Turf and is one of four exiting the one mile turf test.

Guzzled early while running a close second, Wertheimer and Frere’s Lucky Folie took command going into the far turn and went on to a scintillating 2 ¼ length first-out maiden score going 5 ½ furlongs on Del Mar’s main track Sept. 6 and has the look of a special filly. Trained by Richard Mandella, the Kentucky-bred daughter of Distorted Humor could be the speed in the race Saturday and she’ll be ridden by Gary Stevens.

Bob Baffert’s One Last Shot, a Kentucky-bred filly by Any Given Saturday, stalked the pace in the Juvenile Turf and finished second, beaten 1 ½ lengths by Jakaby Jade, at odds of 4-1. Owned by Speedway Stable, LLC, she was an impressive first-out maiden special weight winner going 5 ½ furlongs at Del Mar on Aug. 1. She’ll be ridden for the third consecutive time by Martin Garcia.

A 2 ½ length maiden special weight winner going a mile on grass two starts back, Red Oak Stable’s homebred Imflatoutsweet finished fifth, beaten 3 ¼ lengths, as the 5-2 favorite in the Juvenile Turf–her third career start. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, the Kentucky-bred filly by Sky Mesa was ridden in her last two starts by Bejarano, but will be handled for the first time by James Graham here on Saturday.

Like Jakaby Jade, Irish-bred Optimism And Hope also made her U.S. debut in Del Mar’s Juvenile Turf. Off at 7-1, she was away slowly and closed from far back to finish sixth, beaten 4 ½ lengths. Trained by Tommy Stack and owned by Michael House, Optimism And Hope appears to have plenty of upside and she once again gets the services of Mike Smith.

The complete field for the Surfer Girl, to be run as the seventh race on a 10-race card Saturday, with jockeys and weights in post position order: Do the Dance, Tiago Pereira, 119; Stays in Vegas, Alex Solis, 117; Mirage, Tyler Baze, 117; Aguacate, Joe Talamo, 117; Jakaby Jade, Rafael Bejarano, 121; Sooner Time, Mario Gutierrez, 117; Lucky Folie, Gary Stevens, 117; Imflatoutsweet, James Graham, 119; One True Kiss, Victor Espinoza, 117; One Last Shot, Martin Garcia, 117, and Optimism And Hope, Mike Smith, 119.