This ‘Lady Goes First, Showing Off Speed

Speed was holding up most of the day at Hollywood Park, so when jockey Patrick Valenzuela sent Hystericalady to the front soon after the start of the Grade II $152,400 Hollywood Breeders’ Cup Oaks, the makings of an upset were in place.

Hystericalady, a 3-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor, pulled away in the stretch Sunday to score a 7 1/2 -length victory over 4-5 favorite Squallacious and win for the fourth time in six starts for trainer and part owner Jerry Hollendorfer.

Sent off at 7-1, Hystericalady covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.08 in running for the first time around two turns.

“I thought she would stretch out, and now she does have speed and tactical speed, so I think that’s dangerous at any time,” Hollendorfer said.

Hystericalady shipped to Hollywood Park from Bay Meadows on Monday and was coming off an impressive allowance victory in 1:08.61 for six furlongs at Bay Meadows on May 10.

Squallacious, a daughter of Summer Squall, was unbeaten in two starts entering the race and was trying to come back 11 days after an allowance victory at seven furlongs.

Squallacious dropped to sixth in the seven-horse field down the backstretch, then rallied along the rail in the stretch but never threatened the winner.

“There’s no doubt good things are still ahead for this filly,” jockey Corey Nakatani said of Squallacious.

Valenzuela first got to ride Hystericalady at Del Mar in August during a sixth-place finish there. Hollendorfer was perplexed with the way she ran and discovered a hairline fracture in a tibia bone.

After seven months of rest, Hystericalady returned on March 17 to finish fourth at Bay Meadows.

Now Hollendorfer has a filly who proved Sunday she’s more than just a sprinter.