Songbird 'Perfect' After Santa Ysabel Score
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Photo: Benoit Photography
Songbird
Songbird, perfect in six races after her front-running, 3 3/4-length victory in the Santa Ysabel Stakes (gr. III) March 5, was fittingly "perfect" the morning of March 6 at Santa Anita Park.
That was the succinct description offered by her trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer. Now it's on to the Santa Anita Oaks (gr. I) April 9 for Fox Hill Farms' daughter of Medaglia d'Oro , who has won her six career starts by a combined margin of more than 32 lengths.
BALAN: Songbird Dominates Santa Ysabel
"What a beast she is," said trainer Doug O'Neill, who has saddled Reddam Racing's Land Over Sea to finish behind the champion 2-year-old filly of 2015 five straight times, including a second-place finish in Saturday's Santa Ysabel, the closest any horse has ever been to Songbird at the end of a race.
"Running second to her shows how good our filly is, too," O'Neill said. "Songbird was definitely geared down, but Mario (Gutierrez) said our filly was geared down, too. It was a super race by Songbird, but we're super proud of Land Over Sea, too."
O'Neill said Land Over Sea would head east for her next race the March 26 Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II).