Starlet winner is Pure Fun

"She jumped away well, but I was a little bit concerned because she was not

traveling her best around the first turn," Gomez explained. "About halfway down

the backside, she started figuring it out and when I wheeled her out she was

really accelerating. She took off and was very impressive."

Blonde Fog nearly pulled out the win in her stakes debut to make it two

straight following a 12 1/2-length triumph in her maiden debut at Santa Anita on

October 28. The bay lass just wasn't able to withstand the late rally from Pure

Fun, though, but was best of the rest while two lengths in front of Scarlet Strike

in third.

"She ran a big race. Those were some nice fillies she ran against and I think

she's going to improve a lot next time," said Martin Garcia, who just missed

taking both graded events at Hollywood on Saturday when Blonde Fog ran second.

Executiveprivilege, who up until the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last out

was unbeaten with a pair of Grade 1 victories, was fourth under the wire.

"Extremely disappointed," jockey Mike Smith stated after Executiveprivilege's third-placing.

"I had a beautiful trip, but she got her head way up and did not menace. I just

hope everything is OK with her after the race."

"(Executiveprivilege) didn't punch," trainer Bob Baffert

remarked. "The winner ran a good race and my other filly (Blonde Fog) ran a good

race.

"On the turn for home I saw (Executiveprivilege) was struggling a little bit.

She felt fine for (Smith), but when she turned for home, she put her head up a

bit and just had no zip."

Midnight Ballet, Renee's Titan, Miss Empire and Rhodium completed the order

under the wire.

Pure Fun shipped into California from Kentucky, where she just captured a

one-mile optional claimer at Churchill Downs by 9 1/4 lengths. That was only her

second start on a dirt track as the Pure Prize filly had spent her five races

prior to that competing on turf. She broke her maiden at Kentucky Downs in

mid-September, before finishing seventh, beaten just 1 1/4 lengths, in the Grade

3 Jessamine over Keeneland's grass one month later.

"She was a little bit further back than I thought she was

going to be," assistant trainer Matt Shirer admitted about the Starlet.

"(Gomez) said he asked her to go around the three-eighths

pole and she gave him a little. Then by about the quarter-pole she really kicked

it in. All the sudden she gave a great burst of energy about six or seven wide

around all those horses. In (her last race in) Kentucky it was the same kind of

thing -- around the quarter-pole she came flying."

Pure Fun definitely took to the synthetic track at Hollywood, and now shows

an 8-3-1-1 career line while her lifetime earnings skyrocketed to $343,599.

"She's probably going to stay here for about a week, then she will fly back

to Lexington," Shirer added. "She'll go to the farm for a little bit

and most likely be pointed toward the (Grade 1 Kentucky) Oaks."

Bred in Kentucky by Royal Oak Farm LLC, Pure Fun was a $5,000 Keeneland

November RNA as a weanling before selling for $22,000 as a Keeneland September

yearling. She is out of the winning Key to the Mint mare Chelsea Green, who also

produced dual stakes-placed filly Lady Cheyne.

Chelsea Green is herself out of stakes-placed winner Chelseanna, making her a

half-sister to Gorky and Golden Spirit, both stakes-placed, as well as

black-type winner Lady Tap, who is the dam of Grade 3-placed stakes victress

Lady's Laughter. Chelsea Green is also a half-sister to the dam of Grade 1 diva

Chelsey Flower.

Others of note in this female family include dual Canadian champions

Scotzanna and Par Excellance.

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