Hope’s Love, a two-year-old full-sister to 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome, ran very well to finish second in her debut sprinting 4 1/2 furlongs at Golden Gate Fields on June 13th.
Trained by Steve Sherman for owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn, Hope’s Love broke a step slowly and dropped about nine lengths behind through an opening quarter-mile fraction of :22.09 set by Ourprincessmelanie. After being urged vigorously by jockey Ricardo Gonzalez, Hope’s Love began to rally up the rail while rounding the turn, and–after being guided to the inside of another filly at the top of the stretch–rallied strongly in the final furlong to fall just a neck short of catching Ourpincessmelanie. The final time was :52.75.
What was most impressive about Hope’s Love’s performance was that she only seemed to be finding her best stride at the finish, and she galloped out very strongly. From all appearances, she is a filly that will relish additional distance and should have a very bright future!
