Songbird Logs Breeze at Santa Anita
Image:
Description:
Photo: Zoe Metz
Songbird works at Santa Anita Feb. 28.
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is generally a pretty cheerful guy, but when he brings Songbird back to the Jerry Hollendorfer barn after her workouts, his mood hits another level.
After her :48 flat half-mile work at Santa Anita Park Feb. 28, a wide smile was plastered on his face.
"Once you get off something like that, everything else is pretty good," Smith said after the undefeated daughter of Medaglia d'Oro earned the rare Southern California "breezing" tag for her workout. "It was about as smooth as you could possibly go for a half-mile. I'll tell you, it just seems like she's getting better."
"Better" might be a scary thought considering the current résumé for the Fox Hill Farms filly, and Smith said her Sunday breeze "might have been her best half-mile ever." It was her third work in preparation for the $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes (gr. III) March 5 at Santa Anita, which should set her up for the Santa Anita Oaks (gr. I) April 9 and the Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) May 6.
"She's just doing everything scary easy," Smith said. "You just pray and hope all goes well, and she gets her opportunity. The way she's training now, everything—her attitude, the way she approaches races now, the way she's travelling—she's getting so much confidence. In the beginning, she wasn't sure of herself. She'd get a little nervous and timid. Now she's the intimidator."