Bel’s Starlet Tops Bill at Hollywood’s Opener

Bel’s Starlet tops a list of eight entries for Wednesday’s $75,000-added Moccasin Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong event for 2-year-old fillies that is the opening day feature of the Hollywood Park Fall Holiday Meeting of Champions.

The meet runs through Dec. 24 on a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule with post time at 1 p.m. The $3.4-million stakes schedule includes five Grade 1 events, beginning with the $200,000-added Hollywood Derby on Saturday.

Bel’s Starlet, a roan daughter of Bel Bolide, has won two of six starts and more than $125,000. She placed second to Dominant Dancer in the Oak Leaf Stakes in her most recent outing and won the Cal-bred CTBA Stakes at Del Mar in September. The Golden Eagle Farm filly is trained by Richard Mandella.

Dramatic Joy, a Riverman filly trained by Jerry Fanning, won the Very Subtle Stakes at Santa Anita in her last start. Dramatic Joy has three wins and a second in four starts and has won $93,535 for DanDar Farms.

A Wild Ride has scored two wins in five starts, including a victory in the Del Mar Debutante over Dominant Dancer. By Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Wild Again, A Wild Ride has earned close to $80,000 for Calumet Farm and trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

Ten K, a Private Account filly trained by Willard Proctor, has two wins in three starts. She defeated Bel’s Starlet in an allowance test at Del Mar in August and ran out of the money as the even-money favorite in the Del Mar Debutante in her last outing.

The first running of the Moccasin was won by Lady’s Secret in 1984.

Other entries in the fourth running of the Moccasin include Interlope, Nasers Pride, Owiseone and Puppet Show.

Sam Who, at 122 pounds, is the top weight for the $75,000-added Hollywood Turf Express, a 6 1/2-furlong turf event featured on Saturday at Hollywood Park.

Sam Who, a 4-year-old bay gelding by Lypheor, made his only start on the turf a winning one, taking the Budweiser Breeders’ Cup in June at Hollywood Park. The Hollywood Park race capped a five-race win streak for Sam Who, the winner of seven of 14 lifetime starts and more than $290,000.

Trained by Henry Moreno, Sam Who set the Hollywood Park track record for six furlongs in 1:08 last May. He finished fourth in his last out, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but was disqualified.

Oraibi, at 120 pounds, won the Grade III Sierra Madre on the downhill Santa Anita turf course and placed second on a soft turf course in the Laurel Dash at Laurel Race Course in his only turf outings. The chestnut son of Forli has won six races lifetime and more than $300,000.

Patchy Groundfog, an earner of more than $480,000, most of it on turf, is next in the weights at 118 pounds. Conditioned by Julio Canani, the 6-year-old son of Instrument Landing has included the Grade III San Francisco Mile at Golden Gate Fields among his 10 grass victories. At 117 pounds are three horses, Mi Preferido, Ofanto and Coastal Voyage.