Matriarch Should Decide Who’s Best in Female Grass Division

Horses that weren’t good enough in the Breeders’ Cup, horses that won other stakes on Breeders’ Cup day and a showdown in the female grass division are all part of the mix that is the Turf Festival this weekend at Hollywood Park.

By Sunday night, Hollywood will have run six grass races worth $2.15 million. The stakes action starts today--first post 12:30 p.m.--with a pair of $200,000 races, the Miesque for 2-year-old fillies going a mile and the Hollywood Turf Express Handicap at 5 1/2 furlongs. Saturday’s program includes the $300,000 Citation Handicap at 1 1/8 miles and the Generous Stakes, a mile race for 2-year-olds that is worth $250,000. Sunday’s $700,000 Matriarch should determine the national female grass champion, and also on the card is the $500,000 Crown Royal Hollywood Derby.

Ryafan, an impressive winner of major races at Keeneland and Santa Anita since she was sent from England to the U.S. in late September, has already been voted best 3-year-old in Europe, and she could add a North American Eclipse Award with a victory in the 1 1/4-mile Matriarch. Also running in the Matriarch are Memories Of Silver, winner of the Beverly D at Arlington International and third when Ryafan won the Yellow Ribbon at Santa Anita on Nov. 2, and Maxzene, who has finished ahead of Memories Of Silver in two of three races.

Besides thinking that he has the best grass female in Ryafan, trainer Bobby Frankel believes he also has the country’s best 3-year-old filly.

“If she wins the Matriarch, why couldn’t they give her both awards--for grass and for 3-year-old filly?” Frankel said. “I’m serious. Where does it say that the 3-year-old filly champ has to be a horse that ran on dirt?”

Technically, Frankel is correct. There are few parameters for Eclipse voters, and occasionally grass horses have received votes in divisions generally perceived to be for dirt horses, but the mindset among most Eclipse voters is that 3-year-old filly is a dirt award. If Ryafan does win the Matriarch, Frankel would have to do some lapel-grabbing to wrest the 3-year-old filly championship away from Ajina, who won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Hollywood Park on Nov. 8. One of his arguments might be that Ajina’s victory at Hollywood was only her third in nine starts this year.

The Matriarch will be the first race Frankel officially saddles Ryafan, although the filly has been in his care at Hollywood Park since she left England, where she was trained by John Gosden. Both Frankel and Gosden train for Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, and Gosden flew in to saddle Ryafan for her 1 1/4-length win over Fanjica in the Yellow Ribbon.

Frankel has seen enough of Ryafan to rank her alongside his Possibly Perfect, who was voted female grass champion in 1995. Frankel also trained Wandesta, who won last year’s Matriarch to clinch an Eclipse Award.

Three of the first five finishers in the Yellow Ribbon--Ryafan, Fanjica, Memories Of Silver and Real Connection--are probables for the Matriarch. The last horse to score a Yellow Ribbon-Matriarch double was Sangue, in 1983.

Geri, who finished second, two lengths behind Spinning World, in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, will run in Saturday’s Citation, making his last start before going to stud. A 5-year-old who had never run on grass until last June, Geri defeated Gentlemen and Helmsman while winning the Woodbine Mile in September.

Honor Glide, who had never run on dirt before his eighth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, returns to grass in Sunday’s Hollywood Derby, which is expected to draw a 13-horse field. Fantastic Fellow, eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, is also expected to run.

Vivid Angel, winner of the Del Mar Debutante and the Oak Leaf at Santa Anita, drew the rail for her grass debut today in the Miesque. The No. 2 post was Vivid Angel’s undoing in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Trapped inside horses in the quick run to the first turn, she had to settle for sixth place.

Three winners from the Breeders’ Cup day card are running in the festival, with Bienvenido in the Citation, Advancing Star returning against males in the Turf Express and Commitisize expected to run in the Generous.

Trainer Richard Mandella was pointing Advancing Star for the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but instead settled for a win in the $100,000 Desert Stormer Handicap on Nov. 8. Advancing Star could not get into the Sprint because it was over-subscribed.

“She ran a big race that day,” Mandella said of Advancing Star’s fast time of 1:14 1/5 in the 6 1/2-furlong race.”You can’t say how she would have done had she made the Sprint. But it would have been fun to have had the chance to try.”

Horse Racing Notes

The Turf Express brings together Reality Road and Latin Dancer, who finished a length apart in the Morvich Handicap on Oct. 26 at Santa Anita. Latin Dancer blew a shoe when he crossed over to the dirt track in the stretch of that race. . . . At 121 pounds, Geri is the high weight in the Citation. El Angelo, sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, will carry 120 pounds. . . . An impressive winner of the Ridgewood Pearl Handicap on Nov. 5, Country Garden is the 2-1 favorite against eight other 2-year-old fillies in today’s $200,000 Miesque Stakes, the first event of the Turf Festival. . . . In a race switched from the turf to the dirt, Mignon re-rallied after being passed to win the $78,050 Waya Handicap by a head over Lady Ling Thursday at Hollywood Park. Ridden by Goncalino Almeida for owner Oakbrook Farm and trainer Ben Cecil, the 2-1 second choice ran the 1 1/4 miles on a wet-fast track in 2:01 2/5. Paranomelody, the 8-5 favorite, finished last in the field of five. . . . Two track records were equaled on the card. New Journey tied Power Forward’s mark of 1:40 for 1 1/16 miles in the third race and Naughty N Haughty matched Track Gal’s 1:02 record for 5 1/2 furlongs in the fifth race.

Staff writer Bob Mieszerski contributed to this story.