Hollywood Beauty brings stakes form to $125K Ruthless

Albert Lupcho, Jr.’s Hollywood Beauty will look to double up on stakes victories in Saturday’s $125,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Ruthless [Race 3] is one of three stakes on Saturday’s nine-race card at the Big A, which features the Listed $250,000 Withers – a 20-10-6-4-2 qualifier for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby – in Race 7 and the Listed $175,000 Toboggan in Race 6. First post is 12:40 p.m. Eastern.

Hollywood Beauty will make her second outing since transferring to the barn of trainer Marya Montoya in the fall and looks to maintain a perfect record under the tutelage of the Parx Racing-based conditioner after a romping victory in the seven-furlong Parx Future Stars Filly Division on December 30 at the Bensalem oval.

The daughter of Honor A.P. was a pacesetting winner under Mychel Sanchez, leading each step of the way under pressure from Beyond Belief in the early stages before shaking off her foe with ease and widening her margin in the turn. Hollywood Beauty bounded home under confident handling, extending the lead to 8 1/4 lengths and completing the course in 1:27.18 at odds of 15-1. The final time was nearly a full second faster than Withers entrant Global Steve ran when taking the Parx Future Stars two races later.

Montoya said Hollywood Beauty’s newfound pacesetting tactics came as a surprise.

“I honestly thought there was a lot of speed that day and our whole thing was to sit off it and make a run. She broke and was on the lead and I saw her get hooked on the turn and thought, ‘Ah well, this is where we’ll come up short.’ But she still had some left at the end,” Montoya said of the effort that produced a 76 Beyer Speed Figure.

Hollywood Beauty began her career with trainer Jacinto Solis and graduated on debut with a closing rally sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs in June at Parx. She went on to finish third in the one-mile Sorority at Monmouth Park, which was sandwiched between off-the-board finishes in the five-furlong Colleen on turf at Monmouth and the one-mile White Clay Creek in October at Delaware Park in her last effort before joining Montoya.

“I’m excited. I’ve only run her once and she ran huge that day – he [Sanchez] said she had more in the tank, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Montoya said. “When I got her, we freshened her up a little and got her more on the muscle – she was very quiet. I backed off her maybe a little more than I wanted to, and I thought she might be a hair short, but she had plenty left.”

Montoya added Hollywood Beauty has proven she can adapt to a variety of pace scenarios.

“I think it’s nice that she can do anything,” Montoya said. “She’s very light on her feet and has put on some weight since we got her. We’re a smaller barn, and sometimes that works for the fillies. Now, she likes candy and treats.”

Hollywood Beauty initially sold for $30,000 as a weanling before hammering for $8,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. Out of the stakes-winning Unusual Heat mare America’s Friend, she is a half-sister to graded stakes-winner America’s Tale and stakes-placed Mr. Unusual.

Sanchez retains the mount from the outermost post 5.

Troy Johnson and Maritza Weston’s dual stakes-winner Win N Your In [post 1, Ruben Silvera, blinkers ON] seeks the first win of her sophomore campaign on the heels of a third-place finish in the seven-furlong Gasparilla on January 11 at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer Carlos David.

There, she made her first start outside of Gulfstream Park and stalked in fourth early before improving to second in the turn to give threat to frontrunner Lynn’s Milky Way, who set splits of 22.03 seconds and 44.83 over the fast dirt. She closed the gap and kept on well, but both fillies were overtaken late by Dancing Magic and Win N Your In was defeated 3 1/4 lengths.

“She’s a decent little filly. She ran third in the Gasparilla and it was kind of a weird race,” David said. “There were some really fast fractions and she got tired chasing. Not every filly likes that track over there at Tampa, so hopefully she likes Aqueduct.”

Last year, the Florida-bred Win Win Win dark bay scored a trio of strong victories at Gulfstream, including a second-out graduation by 7 1/2 lengths in July that garnered a field-best 79 Beyer and a pair of stakes coups in the open-company Sharp Susan in August and the seven-furlong restricted Florida Sire Susan’s Girl in October.

David said he has been pleased with the way Win N Your In has progressed since her debut in June at Gulfstream.

“She was a small filly and I didn’t think much of her, but we gave her a couple shots in state-bred company and won there and then flourished,” David said. “She won an open-company stake and from that moment on, she’s been hitting the board and winning. She’s been good to us.”

A $12,000 yearling purchase at the OBS Winter Mixed Sale, Win N Your In is out of the Yes It’s True mare Hello Rosie, who also produced multiple stakes-winner Miss Auramet. Win N Your In has banked $233,950 through a 7-3-0-3 record.

Jay Em Ess Stable’s Kentucky homebred Moonlit Drive [post 4, Manny Franco] posted an impressive debut score on January 10 at the Big A, taking a six-furlong maiden by a neck with an off-the-pace rally under returning jockey Manny Franco.

Trained by Michelle Nevin, the Quality Road bay was five lengths back in fifth through the opening quarter-mile, but improved position through every point of call to come within striking distance of pacesetter Taste of Diamonds at the top of the lane. The frontrunner battled on gamely, but Moonlit Drive would not be denied and nailed her foe in the shadow of the wire, completing the course in 1:12.51.

Moonlit Drive is out of the Nevin-trained and Jay Em Ess-campaigned By the Moon, a dual Grade 1-winning millionaire. She is a half-sister to Full Moon Madness, who finished second in the Listed Gravesend on December 28 here for the same connections and is entered in the Toboggan.

Completing the field are the Louis Linder, Jr.-trained pair of stakes-placed Volleyballprincess [post 3, Eliseo Ruiz] and maiden-winner Ourdaydreaminggirl [post 2, Paco Lopez].  

America’s Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct Racetrack winter meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule/.
 
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