Flores Wins for Baffert, Pegram

A Triple Crown sweep may have escaped trainer Bob Baffert and owner Mike Pegram, but both of the main events at Hollywood Park on Saturday belonged to them.

Jockey David Flores scored a front-running, 9-1 upset on Censored in the $100,000 Melair Stakes, then came right back to ride Commitisize to a gate-to-wire win in the $108,700 Cinema Handicap.

In winning for the fourth time in 12 starts, Commitisize, the 7-2 second choice in the field of seven 3-year-olds, opened up a big advantage on the far turn and had more than enough left to win by two lengths in 1:48 for the 1 1/8 miles on turf.

“This horse is very fast and I was concerned about the distance, but he was relaxed,” Flores said. “He was going fast [46 1/5 for the half-mile], but no one was putting any pressure on him, so when I turned for home he was still very strong. You can run fast early and win if your horse is relaxed.”

Making his stakes debut, Killer Image was second, three lengths ahead of 2-1 favorite Lord Smith, who according to jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, was his own worst enemy.

“He was just too rank the first quarter of a mile,” Delahoussaye said. “I’m not saying he would have beaten the winner, but I think he would have performed a lot better if he would have relaxed.”

Censored’s victory was her third in six starts as she defeated 42-1 shot Filigree by two lengths in 1:16 for the 6 1/2 furlongs. Cherry Moon, the Melair favorite at 13-10, was sixth and 2-1 second choice Money In The Sheet was seventh and last.

Although it was a long flight home from New York for jockey Kent Desormeaux after his near miss with Real Quiet on Saturday, he has something to look forward to this afternoon at Hollywood Park.

Fiji, arguably the top filly or grass mare in the country, will be waiting for him.

An easy winner of the Santa Ana and Santa Barbara Handicaps in her first two appearances in graded stakes, Fiji will make her Hollywood Park debut in the $250,000-added Gamely Breeders’ Cup Handicap today.

A winner of four of her five starts at Santa Anita and a loser only once in seven career races, the 4-year-old Rainbow Quest filly will be heavily favored to run her victory streak to five in the Gamely, a Grade I at 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

Fiji, owned by Ahmed Salman’s Thoroughbred Corp. and trained by Neil Drysdale, is the 6-5 choice on Russ Hudak’s morning line and will have six opponents, but Shake The Yoke is not among them.

Generally considered to be the main threat to the favorite, Shake The Yoke will miss the Gamely because of a bruised foot. Trainer Ron Ellis said the mare, who won the Wilshire Handicap impressively earlier in the meeting, will be rested and pointed for the Ramona Handicap in early August at Del Mar.

Like Fiji, Kool Kat Katie will be making her first start at Hollywood Park and has only one defeat. Victorious in four of five, the Irish-bred filly won an allowance race at Keeneland in her 1998 debut on April 19, but showed her class last fall when capturing the E. P. Taylor last fall at Woodbine in Toronto. Jerry Bailey will be in to ride the Fairy King filly for trainer Jonathan Sheppard.

Others who were entered for the Gamely Friday morning were Squeak, who is trained by Ben Cecil, who won the race last year with Donna Viola, Green Jewel, Sonja’s Faith, Golden Arches and Traces Of Gold.