Grand Farm’s FESTIVAL (Jpn) (Assatis) rolled past pacesetter Irgunette (Aus)
(Irgun) in midstretch en route to a six-length romp in Monday’s $150,000 Dahlia
H. (G3), the closing-day feature at Hollywood Park. The Paddy Gallagher-trained
five-year-old mare, who earned her first graded/group win in her second U.S.
start since being imported from Japan, was ridden by Danny Sorenson and sent off
as the 5-1 fifth choice in the five-horse field. Originally scheduled for the
turf, the 1 1/16-mile event was switched to the main track and lost half of its
entrants as well as its Grade 2 status, pending a review from the American
Graded Stakes Committee.
Festival was content to trail the entire field in the early stages while
Irgunette led the way by a large margin through fractions of :23 1/5 and :45
3/5. Festival still trailed in second by seven lengths after six furlongs in
1:09 3/5, but she began to erase the margin substantially leaving the far turn
and continued her momentum into the stretch drive, inhaling Irgunette inside the
eighth pole and quickly drawing clear. She stopped the teletimer over the fast
track in 1:42.
The bay winner paid $13.40, $5.80 and $5.40 and keyed the $25.70 exacta ($1)
with Irgunette, who gave back $5.60 and $4.40. It was another nine lengths back
to Belle Ange (Fr) (Ganges), who was followed under the wire by 6-5 favorite
Midwife (Family Calling) and Navaja (NZ) (Daggers Dawn). Show returned $4, the
$1 trifecta $73.60 and the 7-3-5-9 superfecta $181.70. Belleski (Polish
Numbers), Janeian (NZ) (The Jogger), Katdogawn (GB) (Bahhare), Penny’s Fortune
(Storm Cat) and Hoh Buzzard (Ire) (Alhaarth) were all scratched.
Festival recorded her first win since her juvenile campaign in 2001 when she
was a two-time stakes heroine. She hadn’t even hit the board since that season,
but now appears to have turned things around in America. The Japanese-bred, who
is out of the unraced mare North Cape (Crowned Prince), has now earned $607,550 from
a 20-5-0-0 line.