Hilda's Passion displays raw speed in Vagrancy

Hilda's Passion increased her margin down the stretch, rattling off six

furlongs in 1:08 2/5 en route to the wire. By collecting her fifth victory in

her last seven starts, all in stakes company, she returned $2.90, $2.40 and

$2.10.

"I was kind of worried for just a second there (at the start)," Castellano

said. "She picked up her head a little bit before the gate and I was kind of

concerned. As soon as the gate opened -- she's so quick -- I think she tried to

jump it and she stumbled very slightly. It wasn't a big deal because she

recovered herself.

"She's a really nice filly. I know the fractions went pretty fast, but I

didn't feel that she was that fast. I just tried to enjoy the trip and when I

asked her a little bit she took off."

"She was conceding from six to 10 pounds to everyone in the race," Pletcher

pointed out, "but she's a strong filly and doing well. I was a little worried

when she stumbled a bit at the start, but she recovered so quickly. It looked as

if she was at the top of her game today. I thought Tidal Pool would show a

little more speed than she did."

Curlina, by far the longest shot on the board at 29-1, outran her odds while

finishing second by four lengths. Tidal Pool took third by a nose from Streaker,

and Erin Rose (Purge) brought up the rear. The field was reduced to five by the

scratches of Kid Kate (Lemon Drop Kid) and Kissa Melissa (Full Mandate).

Hilda's Passion sports a 12-7-2-0 record and $587,993 in earnings. The

four-year-old bay, who landed the off-the-turf Bennington S. at Saratoga and the

Raven Run S. (G2) on Keeneland's Polytrack in her final two outings last year,

has developed into one of the nation's premier female sprinters this season.

At Gulfstream Park over the winter, she missed by a neck after a less than

ideal trip in the January 15 Sugar Swirl S. (G3), but rebounded to capture the

February 13 Hurricane Bertie S. (G3) and March 19 Inside Information S. (G2),

the latter in a track-record 1:20 2/5 for seven furlongs. Hilda's Passion was

most recently second in the Humana Distaff (G1) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky

Derby Day, beaten by track specialist Sassy Image (Broken Vow).

"She's probably the fastest filly sprinter in the country," said Jack Wolf,

managing partner of co-owner Starlight Racing. "She lost her last race, but it

was probably more of a function of the other horse traveling well over that

surface. We got beat by a better horse that day, a horse who likes the surface

and was on a better part of the racetrack."

Bred by Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Kuster in Kentucky, Hilda's Passion RNA'd for

$4,200 as a Keeneland November weanling. She is out of the winning El Prado

(Ire) mare Executricker, whose latest foals are an unraced sophomore colt named

Mannak (Canadian Frontier), a full brother to Hilda's Passion, and a juvenile

colt named Edge of the World (Quest).

Further back, this is the family of English highweight Twice Over (GB)

(Observatory), who became a two-time winner of the Champion S. (Eng-G1) last

fall; Group 1 queen Passage of Time (GB) (Dansili [GB]); champion Banshee Breeze

(Unbridled); and Hall of Famer and noted sire Damascus (Sword Dancer).

Pletcher has mapped out the summer schedule for Hilda's Passion.

"I think probably what we'll do is run here in the Bed o'Roses ([G3] on July

3) and then in the Ballerina ([G1] on August 27 at Saratoga)."