Lighten Up Tiny & Ex Federali--California Gold Rush II

Lighten Up Tiny and Ex Federali chose a rich payday to graduate from the maiden ranks. It was the former's racing bow and the fifth career start for the latter. Both were trained by Bob Baffert.

Lighten Up Tiny is owned by Jack and Florence Arnold, who also own multiple stakes winner Stormy Jack. Like Stormy Jack, she was sired by Bertrando (River Edge Farm). Due to the strength of two bullet works, the filly was sent off the 5-2 second choice against 13 maiden distaffers in the A Kiss For Luck Stakes. Ridden by Tyler Baze, she accelerated smartly from 11th spot to win the 6 1/2 furlong stakes by seven lengths and picked up a check worth $36,000.

Before he went postward for the Jaklin Klugman Stakes, Maynard Davis and Charles Novak's Ex Federali was never worse than third in four previous starts and had even run second to the promising Figlio Mio in his second career start. The 4-year-old son of In Excess (Ire) (Vessels Stallion Farm) is a full brother to 1997 California champion juvenile Ex Marks the Cop.

In a perfect exhibition of stalking amongst a field of 14 maidens, Ex Federali justified his favoritism with a 2 1/2-length win under Victor Espinoza in 1:15 4/5 and he picked up an identical check for $36,000.

Lighten Up Tiny justified her victory by capturing an allowance race in her next start, then ran second to Above Perfection in the Fleet Treat Stakes at Del Mar. She later added a second and a third in allowance company.

Ex Federali also validated his win with an allowance score two races later. It was runner-up Speedy Pick who made the biggest improvement, however. The full brother to Hugh Hefner (Bertrando) broke his maiden on June 15 and later switched to turf, where he has done his best running. On March 16, he set the pace of the 1 1/2-mile San Luis Rey Stakes and almost stole the race at 58-1 odds. He managed to hang on to finish third to fellow Cal-bred Continental Red in a four-horse photo.