Unbeaten Songbird returns to racing with dominating performance

ARCADIA >> If Saturday’s $200,000 Grade II Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita was the last time Southe Califoia racing fans are treated to watching Songbird run before the Breeders’ Cup in November, the brilliant 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro gave ’em something to remember.

Songbird, who missed the Kentucky Oaks after she spiked a low-grade fever shortly after winning the Santa Anita Oaks, retued to the races in grand fashion, beating Bellamentary by 6 1/2 lengths to run her record to 8-0. She’s won her races by a combined 42 1/2 lengths.

Her jockey, Hall of Famer Mike Smith, called her “freaky” after the race.

“If there was someone in front of her to make her focus and make her run, there’s no telling how fast she’d run,” he said after the 1-9 favorite ran the 1 1/16 miles against four other sophomore fillies in 1:42.63.

For the first time in her career, Songbird sat off the pace, letting Bellamentary have the lead through a 22.97 opening quarter mile and a 45.95 half mile. She took the lead just past midway down the backstretch and was never threatened as Smith gave her a long, loose rein.

Said Smith: “I knew she was going to fire today. I just tried to stay out of her way. She has wings on her hooves, I swear. She just goes into stealth mode.”

There are some who believe Songbird is the best 3-year-old in the country, male or female.

How about it, Mike? Is Songbird ready to take on the boys?

“She’s been ready for a long time,” he said.

So now, ready or not, Songbird will be heading east to tackle the top 3-year-old fillies on the other coast, the likes of Carina Mia, Cathryn Sophia, Go Maggie Go and Rachel’s Valentina.

“The races that are coming up for her (in Califoia) really don’t fit what we want to do with her, so we’ll probably be back east,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.

Hollendorfer said Songbird will train at Del Mar and then in all likelihood ship to Saratoga for a pair of Grade I classics for fillies — the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (1 1/8 miles) on July 24 and the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (1 1/4 miles) on Aug. 20.

Hollendorfer said it’s doubtful Songbird would run in the $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 31. Her owner, Rick Porter of Fox Hill Farms, has said repeatedly he doesn’t want to run his filly against the boys until her 4-year-old campaign.

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“Mr. Porter likes having input on these things, so we’ll talk it over and make a plan, see what happens,” he said. “I wouldn’t think we’d go to the Haskell, but there are plenty of races for her, and we’ve talked about several of them.

“We’ll stick with the girls for now and see what happens.”

Though Songbird was coming in off a two month-plus layoff, Hollendorfer was cautiously optimistic she would run well.

“You always wonder if your horse is going to come back just like they were before,” he said. “You have a little anticipation, but she showed us in the moings that she was doing great and that we wouldn’t have to worry about that.”

He said Songbird’s win from off the pace was not by design.

“Mike was going to go, and then if somebody went then he was going to make his judgement,” Hollendorfer said. “So when (Martin) Garcia (aboard Bellamentary) went, then he decided to wait a little bit off. He knew that our filly was well within herself and that’s why he kind of took the lead earlier than he needed to. She was going easy. That’s why he did that.”

It tued out to be a nice birthday gift for Hollendorfer, who tued 70 on Saturday.

“This is a pretty good one,” he said.