HOLLYWOOD PARK / THE MATRIARCH : 31-1 Shot Duda Delivers Upset for Mott, Bailey

Almost five months after their last appearance in the Hollywood Park winner’s circle, trainer Bill Mott and jockey Jerry Bailey were back.

This occasion was quite a bit more surprising than the one in early July when Cigar won the Hollywood Gold Cup, continuing a winning streak that is now at 12.

On Sunday, Duda, the second longest shot in the field at nearly 31-1, rallied from well off the pace to win the $700,000 Matriarch by a length over Angel In My Heart.

Owned by Allan Paulson’s wife, Madeleine, the 4-year-old Theatrical filly had flopped badly on soft turf in her last start at Belmont Park, but, apparently, the firm Hollywood Park grass was all she needed to turn things around.

Ninth after a mile behind a crawling pace, Duda swung wide into the stretch and got up in the final yards to win going away in 2:00 1/5 for the 1 1/4 miles.

Duda paid $63.40, $28.60 and $17.60.

Angel In My Heart held off Wandesta by a neck for second, then it was a nose further back to Windsharp and Balanka, who finished in a dead heat for fourth.

If nothing else, the Matriarch seemed to clinch an Eclipse Award for the now-retired Possibly Perfect as the nation’s top female turf performer. Alpride, who was making a late bid for the title after her Yellow Ribbon victory two weeks earlier, checked in seventh Sunday as the 2-1 favorite.

Mott, fresh off the plane from Japan where his Lassigny was scratched from the Japan Cup on Friday because of a bruised hoof, thought firm going would help Duda.

“I thought she’d run better than she had the last couple of times,” he said, “simply because she caught some real soft ground.

“We kind of got stuck behind a slow pace [24 4/5, 49 3/5 and 1:13 2/5 for six furlongs], and I was a little concerned. When she finally [got clear], she came with a big run. I mean, it’s hard to imagine that she was able to close off that slow a pace.”

The nation’s leading money-winning jockey, Bailey added $385,000 to his total, which is now more than $16 million for 1995.