INGLEWOOD, CA (June 20, 2008)--Racing without her customary blinkers, Catherine's Hope scooted to a 1 1-4 length upset victory in Friday night's $75,800 allowance headliner at Hollywood Park.
Prominent out of the gate, Catherine's Hope was positioned just off the pace by Jon Court, tagged the tiring Kalookan Dancer at the top of the stretch and held her advantage the rest of the way. Zilla won the place battle by a nose over odds-on favorite Lemon Kiss.
Owned by Cenicola or Jett, Et Al and trained by Louis Cenicola, Catherine's Hope had fallen on hard times lately, finishing off the board all five previous starts this year. Friday's $45,250 winner's share elevated her career earnings to $259,162.
Catherine's Hope, a 4-year-old daugter of In Excess, covered the 6 1-2 furlongs in 1:15 1/5 and returned $17.20, $7 and $2.80. Zilla returned $4.60 and $2.60 while Lemon Kiss paid $2.10 to show.
When racing resumes Saturday, a small but competitive field of five is set to go in the featured third race, the $150,000-added Cinema Handicap. There will also be a carryover of $113,359 added to the Pick Six pool. First post is 1:20.
