Citronnade dominates on turf

Citronnade, the 4-5 favorite, remained unbeaten in California with another convincing, wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the $150,000 Santa Ana Handicap.

Owned by breeder Frank Stronach and trained by Bobby Frankel, the 4-year-old Lemon Drop Kid filly, who had won the Audrey Skirball Kenis at Hollywood Park and the San Gorgonio Handicap locally in her first two races in the state, won for the fourth time in five starts on the turf in the Grade II.

Ridden by regular jockey David Flores, Citronnade, who has won six of nine overall, ran the 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.21, establishing a stakes record. In winning by 5 1/4 lengths, Citronnade broke the previous mark of 1:46.23 set by Exchange in 1993.

“She’s a big, strong filly,” said Frankel after his 10th stakes win of the meet, tying him with Doug O’Neill for the lead among trainers. “She always has a good day. That’s why she is so good. She’s a pleasure to train.”

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Rags To Riches, the top 3-year-old filly in the country, won’t run against males in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 7.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday morning that the daughter of Fusaichi Pegasus, who won the Santa Anita Oaks in her most recent start, on March 11, won’t run again until the Kentucky Oaks on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

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Jockey Danny Sorenson underwent surgery at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood for a broken right hip he suffered in a training accident Saturday at Hollywood Park.

Brandon O’Bryan, Sorenson’s agent, said it is unclear how long the rider will be sidelined. Sorenson, 49, has been plagued by injuries in recent years.

He suffered a fractured vertebrae in his neck in a spill at Santa Anita on March 27, 2003, then fractured his shoulder in a post-parade incident at Fairplex Park when he returned that September and was out for the rest of the year.

In the summer of 2005, Sorenson broke his left collarbone and tore his rotator cuff in a spill at Del Mar and was sidelined for nine months.

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Jockey Jon Court became the 58th rider to receive the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award during a ceremony between the fifth and sixth races at Santa Anita.

Voted on by other riders, the award is presented to a jockey whose “career and personal character earn esteem for the individual and the sport of thoroughbred racing.”

Court, 47, was joined in the winner’s circle by members of his family, other members of the local jockey colony and past winners, including Eddie Delahoussaye, Bill Harmatz, Frank Olivares, Don Pierce, Laffit Pincay Jr., Gary Stevens and Merlin Volzke.

bob.mieszerski@latimes.com