American Oaks tops four-stakes card at Hollywood Park

Hollywood Park will host four stakes events on Saturday, headed by the Grade

1, $350,000

American Oaks sending eight sophomore fillies 1 1/4 miles on the

turf. The race features the return, and grass debut, of Ashland victress

Emollient following her subpar sixth-place effort in the Black-Eyed Susan.

Also taking place will be the Grade 2, $200,000

A Gleam Handicap,

which attracted a field of eight fillies

and mares. The seven-furlong affair

is a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race,

enabling the BC-nominated winner of the race to earn a fees-paid berth

in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on November 1 at Santa Anita.

Rounding out the stakes action on the card will be a pair of six-furlong

contests for juveniles. The $150,000

Hollywood Juvenile Championship, which was downgraded for this year from its

Grade 3 status, has drawn a field of seven colts, while its sister race, the

$150,000

Landaluce, has the same number of fillies entered.

Sarach managed to pull out a wire job in that nine-furlong grass event by a

length over Scarlet Strike, who entered off a win in the Providencia and a head

second in the Senorita. Macha was making her graded bow in the race and reputed

herself well while beaten just 1 1/2 lengths for it all.

Becky Lou rallied to be two lengths behind Sarach on the wire in just her

second U.S. start. The Johannesburg miss captured her stateside bow over Santa

Anita's green in April and was stretching out past a mile for the first time.

Wittgenstein, third by a head in the grassy Blue Norther on New Year's Day,

finished next-to-last in the Honeymoon, but was only beaten 3 3/4 lengths by

Sarach on the line.

Emotional Kitten took another route to get to the American Oaks. The Wesley

Ward-trained daughter of Kitten's Joy has traveled all around the country,

stopping at seven different tracks already in her 10-race career, and enters

Saturday off a pair of wins at Keeneland and Pimlico. She actually captured the

Hilltop at that latter track, and gets a jockey switch to Victor Espinoza.

One race before the American Oaks, the A Gleam will see the return of

Reneesgotzip. The City Zip four-year-old has won half of her races, and was last

seen just missing by a neck in the La Brea on December 26. Trainer Peter Miller

withdrew the chestnut filly from last Saturday's Princess Rooney at Calder in

favor of this one, and she'll be looking to keep her mark over Hollywood's

Cushion Track perfect with Garrett Gomez returning to the saddle.

Out to derail that unbeaten line will be Byrama, Teddy's Promise and Book

Review. The former is going best of all, having taken the Vanity Handicap by 3

1/2 lengths on June 15. Gary Stevens was aboard that day and keeps the mount.

Teddy's Promise was a 4 1/4-length defending champion of the Time to Leave two

back, and just missed by three parts of a length when third in the Desert

Stormer Handicap last month.

Book Review got the win in the La Brea over Reneesgotzip, but has suffered

defeat in her two races since then. The Giant's Causeway miss was second in the

La Canada and then filled that same spot when beaten only a half-length in the

Santa Maria last out on February 16. Rafael Bejarano has the call.