INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Oct. 26, 2008) - Queen Ofthe Catsle, winner of three straight races including the Grade III Senator Ken Maddy Handicap in her last start, heads a field of eight in the $65,000 Dance In The Mood Stakes as Hollywood Park's 40-day Autumn Meet opens Wednesday.
The feature - named for the Japanese-bred winner of the 2007 CashCall Mile at Hollywood Park - will run as the seventh of eight races on the opening-day program, which begins at 12:30 p.m.
Queen Ofthe Catsle has four wins and a second in six 2008 starts for C.T. Grether Inc. and trajner Howard Zucker. She has beaten five of her rivals this year, including four in the Maddy.
The 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Tale of the Cat will carry co-high weight of 124 pounds in the six-furlong Dance In The Mood, which will be contested on the Lakeside Turf Course. The field lines up as follows from the rail out:
America's Friend, with Alex Solis up, will carry 124 pounds; Queen Ofthe Catsle, Victor Espinoza, 124; Eletro Nuclear, Joel Rosario, 116; That's Hot, Garrett Gomez, 116; Woodland City, Martin Pedroza, 116; Captive Melody, Rafael Bejarano, 116; Peregian, Michael Baze, 116, and Kalookan Dancer, Martin Garcia, 118.
Queen Ofthe Catsle, first or second in 12 lifetime starts for earnings of $258,784, won a six-furlong allowance race on the Lakeside Turf Course in May.
Captive Melody posted the first back-to-back wins in the Cesario here on turf last December, but is winless in her last three starts; America's Friend won the Solano Beach three starts back at Del Mar, while Kalookan Dancer shifts to turf after placing in a pair of stakes at Fairplex Park.
The field has an international flavor with Brazilian-bred Eletro Nuclear, Irish-bred That's Hot, South African-bred Woodland City and Australian-bred Peregian.
Peregian, a winner of four races in Australia, seeks her first North American win in her third start here. Woodland City, Eletro Nuclear and That's Hot each chased Queen Ofthe Catsle home in her last two starts - the Maddy at Oak Tree and the Daisycutter at Del Mar.
The 40-day Autumn Meet at Hollywood Park runs though Dec. 21 with racing Wednesday through Sunday each week. Post time is at 12:30 p.m. daily with the exceptions of an 11 a.m. post time on Nov. 27 and 7:05 p.m. post times on Nov. 7, 14 and 21.
