HOLLYWOOD PARK : Joyzell, Victorias Secrett Top Arabian Filly Futurity

When Joyzell arrived at Brian Braithwaite’s barn a year ago, the trainer believed the 2-year-old Arabian filly was something special.

But when Joyzell failed to qualify several times last spring, Braithwaite wrote it off as a growing period and didn’t take her to the races until early August.

The wait was worthwhile. Joyzell won her first start, against colts, and has since won three races against fillies, including an Oct. 1 trial for the Daughters of the Desert Futurity in track-record time.

The $153,784 final for 3-year-old Arabian fillies will be run Sunday, sharing the spotlight this weekend with Saturday’s $160,460 Drinkers of the Wind Futurity for 3-year-old Arabian colts and geldings. They are the two richest races ever held for Arabians, easily exceeding a $100,000 race held at Bay Meadows in the mid-1980s.

Primary competition for Joyzell in the Daughters of the Desert figures to be Victorias Secrett, undefeated in seven starts and winner of her last three races by a total of 70 lengths, including a 20-length trial victory Oct. 1.

Victorias Secrett ran six furlongs in 1:17 4/5, one-fifth of a second slower than Joyzell, who won her trial by 14 lengths. Joyzell is owned by Wayne Crooks and will be ridden by Frank Quesada, who tied for the lead in the Arabian standings at Los Alamitos in 1991.

The Daughters of the Desert will bring Joyzell and Victorias Secrett together for the first time.

“I’m nervous about Victorias Secrett, but not about anyone else,” Braithwaite said. “If (Joyzell) runs the same race she ran in the trials, that’s all I can ask.”

Victorias Secrett, owned by Darley Stud Management, was unchallenged in her first six starts at Delaware Park before being shipped to Hollywood Park in September. Her winning streak and her wide margins of victory will make her the probable favorite Sunday.

“(Joyzell) beat her on time in the trials, but we haven’t really let her run,” trainer Bill Waldron said of Victorias Secrett. “There’s no point in letting her rip out of there and hurt herself.”

Waldron said that Sunday’s race would be Victorias Secrett’s last of the year, whereas Braithwaite indicated that Joyzell would run at Los Alamitos during the winter.

Leading contenders for the Drinkers of the Wind include PL Cavalier, who has won six of seven starts; and Calin De Louve, both owned by 23-year-old Tahnoon Bin Zayed. TC Tomahawk, undefeated in five races, and Sun Ne Delight are owned by his 22-year-old brother, Mansoor Bin Zayed. A third brother, 21-year-old Falah Zayed, will be represented in the futurity by FMR Hadassah.

TC Tomahawk, a gelding, and PL Cavalier, a colt, are regarded as the top 3-year-olds in the nation. TC Tomahawk was raced sparingly at Delaware through the summer, winning two stakes. In his first race last May, he beat PL Cavalier by four lengths. Since then, neither has lost.

PL Cavalier won his first race in late May at Delaware Park, then was shipped here and has won five more races, two of them stakes. His trainer, Lynette Ashby, leads the Hollywood Park Arabian standings with 14 victories from 32 starters.

She also trains Calin De Louve, who won twice in four days, an allowance on Sept. 27 and a trial on Oct. 1.

Hollywood Park Notes

Trainer Bob Gilbert could saddle as many as six horses for Saturday’s $50,000 Anne Burnett Invitational. The 400-yard race is the nation’s top test for older mares and fillies and will play a large part in determining the champion older mare. . . . Gilbert won Saturday’s $21,200 Paul Ford Memorial Handicap with Halfway High, a 5-year-old mare. She ran 870 yards in 45.45 seconds.

Bills Ryon, who won the Breeders Championship Classic on Oct. 3, is the 123-pound high weight for Sunday’s $20,000 Sophomore Handicap. Dash Ta Fame, Easter Buggy, Ed Grimley, Rare Form and Royal Trips were weighted at 122. . . . Thursday’s program includes trials for the California Futurity and derby and has drawn strong fields. The meeting will end on Oct. 25.