Dahlia

An interesting group of 12 turf distaffers will travel 1 1/16 miles to
contest the $150,000 Dahlia H. (G2) at Hollywood Park on Monday, the track’s
closing day. GRANDE MELODY (Ire) (Grand Lodge) was so
impressive in an allowance race two prior at Keeneland that anything resembling
that effort could put the Patrick Biancone charge in the winners circle. The
three-year-old miss was a useful third in the Audrey Skirball-Kenis S. in her
local prep for this one when trailing early behind a dawdling pace, and the dark
bay should be much tighter for this one. Although the filly lacks the credentials
of some of these, she’ll be allowed a weight break on many of her top
competitors and should be moving best late under Julien Leparoux.

Grade 2 heroine NAISSANCE ROYALE (Ire) (Giant’s Causeway) was a game third in
the recent E. P. Taylor S. (Can-G1) and should be around late with anything
resembling her best. The four-year-old hails from the white-hot Christophe
Clement barn and rarely runs a bad one, making her a threat virtually every time
she steps onto the green. Money rider Garret Gomez, who rode her in Canada last
out, retains the assignment.

BERBATIM (Bernstein) holds a tactical edge over the field and could be good
enough to hold on for a share in here. The Richard Mandella charge has faced
some of the better competition on the West Coast as of late and has done well
while holding her own. The likely pacesetter should be in the thick of it late
under Aaron Gryder, if allowed to dictate a sensible trip.

The New York-bred FINLANDIA (Royal Anthem) is also equipped with an abundance
of natural early foot, and is sent out from the dangerous Tom Bush barn. We’re
not certain how the East Coast invader will handle the ship and warmer climate,
but she’s never been in better form and would not surprise with a top-three
placing with a prime showing. The presence of Kent Desormeaux enhances the
filly’s chances.

CHARM THE GIANT (Ire) (Giant’s Causeway) makes her graded debut in here for
Ron McAnally. The consistent sort has been freshened for this one and has
trained well in the interim, leading us to believe that she may be sitting on a
big one. We’re not sure if her best is good enough, but we suggest using the
lass in your vertical exotic wagers. Tyler Baze has riding duties.

The stakes winning SINGALONG (GB) (Singspiel [Ire]) is perfect from two
starts over this oval and could grab a small piece of the pie with improvement.
The four-year-old bay, trained by Paddy Gallagher, found the fields in her last
pair a bit too difficult but may find the sledding a bit easier in here. Victor
Espinoza will ride. MOVIE STAR (Brz) (Royal Academy) and DREAM’S (Chi) (Sam M.) resemble each other, so they’re hard to
separate. We wouldn’t be totally shocked if either gets a call late, but we
can’t endorse them in this event.

MEMORETTE (Memo [Chi]) enjoyed her best success of 2006 over this course,
capturing the Beverly Hills H. (G2) back in June. A trio of
unplaced events versus stakes fields followed that for Bill Currin trainee, and
we’ll just watch this one until the filly’s top form returns. STRONG FAITH
(Pioneering) has been a bit player since switching to the Darrell Vienna barn,
and appears to be in a tough spot here.

CROSS (Mighty) has sprinted on the green in her two starts
following a layoff and will need a career best to be in the mix late for Doug
O’Neill. CONVEYOR’S ANGEL (Conveyor) comes off a sharp win over this lawn most
recently but has never challenged this type in recent efforts.