Miss Lizzy (Benoit Photo)
Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif.— Miss Lizzy, twice stakes-placed this year on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course, returns to the unique layout Saturday seeking a stakes breakthrough in the $100,000 Mizdirection Stakes for older fillies and mares.
Most recently, Miss Lizzy was stretched to a mile in the GIII Royal Heroine on April 27 and was a well-beaten sixth under Hector Berrios after being forwardly placed. Prior to that effort, the 4-year-old Classic Empire filly hit the board in a pair of stakes down the hill under Berrios.
In the Wishing Well Feb. 25, Miss Lizzy finished 1 ¼ lengths back of winner Ag Bullet in third. Next on April 6 in the GIII Monrovia, she was second by 1 ½ lengths to Ag Bullet.
Miss Lizzy won’t have to deal with Ag Bullet on Saturday, but looming are the Monrovia’s third- and fourth-place finishers, Getthemoney and Lucky Girl.
Interestingly, there is a jockey swap concerning Miss Lizzy who is trained by Doug O’Neill and Lucky Girl, who is trained by Phil D’Amato.
In the Monrovia, Lucky Girl under Antonio Fresu finished fourth, less than a half-length back of Miss Lizzy and Berrios. In the Mizdirection, Fresu and Berrios have switched mounts. Fresu rides Miss Lizzy this time with Berrios getting the call on Lucky Girl.
Miss Lizzy is 18: 4-5-3 with $202,820 in earnings for owners Glenn Sorgenstein, WC Racing Inc. and Wonderland Racing Stables.
A major threat not exiting the Monrovia is The Wild Grazer, who is 2-for-3 on the hillside course with a Grade III placing. On March 29, The Wild Grazer returned from an eight-plus month layoff and won a second-level allowance down the hill for trainer Jeff Mullins.
Last year, the now 4-year-old Ireland-bred filly was third in the GIII Senorita on the hillside course and second in the Lady of Shamrock at a mile on turf. The Wild Grazer, by the Galileo stallion Gustav Klimt, is campaigned by Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal. She is 9: 3-1-2 with $173,398 in earnings.
Jockey Geovanni Franco, who was abord for The Wild Grazer’s comeback allowance win, will be in the irons.
Getthemoney was a head back of Miss Lizzy in the Monrovia when splitting her and Lucky Girl to get the show dough under Frankie Dettori. It was the stakes debut for the 4-year-old Midnight Lute filly. Trained by Peter Miller, she is 6: 2-1-2 with $121,940 in earnings for owners Alan P. Klein, Phillip Lebherz and Janet Lyons.
Jockey Juan Hernandez, who rode Getthemoney to an allowance win down the hill prior to the Monrovia, has the call.
Lucky Girl was trying the hillside course for the first time in the Monrovia. Prior to that effort she was fifth in the GII Buena Vista at a mile on turf in her 5-year-old debut March 3.
Bred in Ireland, where she made one start before coming to the U.S., Lucky Girl is a 5-year-old mare by Exceed And Excel owned by Bruce Slade. She is 17: 3-0-1 with $196,863 in earnings.
THE MIZDIRECTION WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 7 of 10 Approximate post time 2:30 p.m. PT
1. Lucky Girl – Hector Berrios – 124
2. The Wild Grazer – Geovanni Franco – 122
3. Selenaia – Umberto Rispoli – 124
4. Getthemoney – Juan Hernandez – 120
5. Miss Lizzy – Antonio Fresu – 120
6. Chismosa – Kyle Frey – 124
7. Rebalation – Ricardo Gonzalez – 124
8. Adaay in Asia – Joeseph Talamo – 122
First post for a 10-race card Saturday is 1 p.m. PT. Admission gates open at 11 a.m.
