Trainer Richard Mandella hoped a first-level allowance mile Thursday at Santa Anita would provide 3-year-old Extra Hope with a boost of confidence, and the colt delivered with a solid victory over a “sloppy” track.
Extra Hope, third last out in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity, won the entry-level allowance by three and one-quarter lengths over favorite Kingly. Final time of the race, run over a “sloppy” track that produced fast times, was 1:34.74. An official Beyer Figure for the race will be released on Friday; an early estimate is the 90 range.
(Friday morning note: Extra Hope earned an 86 Beyer Figure.)
Flavien Prat rode Extra Hope, who pressed the pace two-wide, put away early leader Gray Magician into the lane and rolled home. Extra Hope returned $8.20.
Owned by breeder Samantha Siegel’s Jay Em Ess Stable, Extra Hope has won two of seven starts. After runner-up Kingly, the order of finish was Big Scotty Daddy, Manhattan Up, Gray Magician, Palladium and Swamp Souffle (the numbers were 7-6-5-4-3-2-1).
The next start for Extra Hope is likely to be in a graded stakes for 3-year-olds.