POMONA, Calif. – The California-bred filly U R All That I Am over achieved most of 2009. She started with a debut victory in a $12,500 maiden-claimer, ended with an autumn stakes win at Hollywood Park, and won 6 of 9 overall.
While victories were less frequent in 2010, U R All That I Am regained peak form in spring, winning two stakes at Hollywood for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Then she came crashing to earth. She misfired in two stakes on the Del Mar grass – fifth as the favorite each time.
“It seemed like she did not like the turf course at Del Mar as much as she liked Hollywood,” assistant trainer Dan Ward said. “The first time, you could say maybe she could not get a mile and a sixteenth, but the second time it was only a mile.”
On Saturday at Fairplex Park, U R All That I Am switches surfaces and benefits from the best remedy for a losing streak – a drop in class. The 4-year-old filly faces six seemingly overmatched fillies and mares in the $50,000 E.B. Johnston Stakes. Following a lost summer, the Johnston is an autumn race she is expected to win.
“She did not train well on the main track at Del Mar, but she loved the training track,” Ward said. “That gave us the idea” for running on the five-eighths mile track at Fairplex.
The 1 1/16-mile E.B. Johnston is restricted to California-bred fillies and mares, and U R All That I Am will be favored under jockey Martin Pedroza. Her rivals are undistinguished.
Initial Impression, 2 for 9, finished second in a solid allowance-race comeback at Del Mar. David Flores rides for trainer Sean McCarthy. U Turn Me Crazy is the speed of the field, while wheeling back seven days after a midpack finish in a Del Mar claiming race. Christian Santiago-Reyes is up for trainer Peter Miller.
While speed is always a threat, Fairplex is not exactly a front-runner’s paradise at 1 1/16 miles. During the 2009 meet, only three of the 25 races at the distance were won by the pacesetter.
Celebration, a $12,500 claiming filly, could keep U Turn Me Crazy honest, while Party With Brando and Silver Heat will close from behind. Patsy’s Lil Buddy makes her third start of a summer-fall campaign and she also will finish. She has two recent bullet works on the Fairplex track.
