INGLEWOOOD, Calif. (Dec. 16, 2007) - Odds-on favorite Citronnade proved to be in a class of her own in Sunday's $150,000 Dahlia Handicap, coasting to a front-running, two-length victory under jockey David Flores in the Grade II event at Hollywood Park.
The victory was the record seventh for Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel in the Dahlia. His first came with Lina Cavalieri in 1984 and his most recent when Surya finished in a dead heat with Tout Charmant in 2002.
An anticipated rematch between Yellow Ribbon winner Nashoba's Key and runner-up Citronnade failed to develop when trainer Carla Gaines scratched the former on Saturday. That left Citronnade as the solid choice and she didn't disappoint, covering 1 1/16 miles on the Lakeside Turf Course in 1:41.49 under a hand ride by Flores. She carried high weight of 122 pounds while posting her fifth victory in seven 2007 starts.
"It was like a walk in the park," Flores said. "I could see in the paper that nobody had her kind of speed. The pace was very comfortable and when it was time to go at the quarter pole, I chirped to her a couple of times and it was all over."
Citronnade paid $3.80, $2.60 and $2.40. Black Mamba, with Tyler Baze up, returned $3.20 and $2.80, while the show payoff on Lavender Sky was $6.
Black Mamba, a 4-year-old New Zealand-bred, finished well, but was not a thrat to the winner.
"There just wasn't any speed to hook that horse," Baze said. "My filly ran an awesome race, she's just getting better and better. There was a little bit of traffic on the turn, but I found my spot and went. She was just unlucky to run in a race that didn't set up for her. This filly's going to get lucky and win a big one."
Citronnade, a homebred daughter of Lemon Drop Kid owned by Stronach Stables, banked $90,000 to boost her bankroll to $864,205. The 4-year-old bay filly is nine-for-14 overall.
