I Believe In You Rewards Owners’ Faith

Purchased for $315,000 last year at a sale in Maryland, I Believe In You was the most expensive buy ever for longtime owners Jan, Mace and Samantha Siegel.

So far, it looks like the money was well spent.

Four races into her career, I Believe In You, a 2-year-old daughter of Pleasant Tap, became a Grade I winner Sunday at Hollywood Park.

Making her California debut for trainer Paul McGee, the 5-1 shot outfought the previously unbeaten Jetin Excess in the final yards to win the $351,750 Hollywood Starlet.

Never far off the pace set by the 9-5 second choice, I Believe In You, who had broken her maiden last month at Churchill Downs after finishing third and second in her first two starts, won by a neck in 1:43 2/5 for the 1 1/16 miles.

This was the first Grade I win and the first victory in California for McGee, 38, and was the last of four consecutive wins for jockey Alex Solis, who had last captured the Starlet in 1989 with Cheval Volant.

“She broke her maiden very impressively and we’ve got Miss Pickums, who won the Golden Rod at Churchill, so we kind of wanted to keep the two fillies separated,” said McGee, whose brother-in-law, Ron Ellis, had been training I Believe In You since she arrived in California three weeks ago.

“We were anticipating the freezing tracks in Kentucky, so Samantha made the grand decision to bring this filly out here.

“Alex was in the zone today, so I didn’t have very many instructions for him. I just said to get her relaxed early and, after that, she was all his. He said she made the lead and got to gawking a little bit, but she dug back in when it counted.

“She may stay in California. We haven’t firmed up anything yet. Samantha’s had faith in this filly since day one and her confidence was rewarded today.”

Trying to become the third unbeaten Starlet winner, Jetin Excess had to settle for second in her first two-turn try. She wound up a length in front of 5-1 fourth choice Whoopddoo.

“She ran very hard, tried as hard as she can,” said jockey Victor Espinoza of the runner-up. “It is hard for any horse the first time they go long. She got all kinds of experience today.

“When she was in front, she was so calm, so nice and so easy. As soon as she got passed, she started to come back again, but it was getting a little bit too late.”

Solis, who won four races on a card for the first time at Hollywood Park since June 11, 1999, was impressed with the winner.

“She was in a good position all the way around there and when I asked her, she responded gamely,” he said. “The other filly put up a good fight, but mine was better today. This is a nice filly.”

The disappointment was 13-10 favorite Cindy’s Hero. Making her first start since finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, the Del Mar Debutante winner was fourth Sunday, a little more than two lengths behind I Believe In You.

“I just don’t know,” said Gary Stevens, who had ridden Cindy’s Hero for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup. “She was where I wanted her to be and it felt like I had loads of horse underneath me at the five-sixteenths pole.

“When I asked her, nothing happened. She just wasn’t responding at all. It feels like she’s in a high gallop, like there’s something else left there, but she just won’t give it to me. I don’t know why.”

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Favored Dashing Knud earned his eighth consecutive victory with a decisive win in the $1,254,400 Los Alamitos Million Saturday night at Los Alamitos.

Owned by Frank Vessels and Gordon Knudsen and trained by Danny Cardoza, Dashing Knud was ridden by Dusty Stimpson and returned $2.80 as the prohibitive 2-5 choice. He completed the 400 yards in 19.70 seconds.

Bred in Utah, Dashing Knud, who won his third Grade I of the year, enabled Cardoza to become the first person in quarter horse history to win $1 million races as a rider and a trainer. Cardoza rode Pie In the Sky to victory in the All American Futurity at Ruidoso in 1979.

Tiny First Effort finished second under jockey Alex Baldillez and paid $10 and $6.20. Make It Anywhere was third and returned $7.20.

Notes

Besides the Hollywood Starlet, Solis won Sunday with Savior, first-timer River God and Satin Cat. . . . With five days left in the meet, Espinoza has a 29-25 lead over defending champion Laffit Pincay Jr. and Solis in the jockey standings. . . . Bobby Frankel leads the trainers with 14 wins, three more than Vladimir Cerin. . . . Two Item Limit, scratched from the Starlet after developing a fever on Friday, will remain in California and be pointed for the Santa Ysabel Stakes on Jan. 6 at Santa Anita.