Hollendorfer back on track at Del Mar with stable star

Able to concentrate for now on his horses instead of court cases, Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer runs his stable star, Vasilika, in the Grade 2, $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap on Saturday at Del Mar.

Vasilika has won 12 of 14 starts with $1,209,528 in earnings since Hollendorfer claimed her for $40,000 on Feb. 11, 2018.

“Since she’s been with us, she’s always been real happy and real consistent,” Hollendorfer said. “She’s real easy to be around.”

Hollendorfer, who has been banned from racing at Santa Anita in Arcadia (Los Angeles County) and Golden Gate Fields by the Stronach Group (and the state of New York) in the wake of the deaths of several of his horses, was cleared to resume training at Del Mar, a San Diego County track, on July 26 when a judged issued a preliminary injunction against the ban.

Hollendorfer’s biggest opportunity since the ruling comes with Vasilika, who he not only trains but coowns. He began with her by running her four times in allowance conditions and twice in starter allowances. She finished second, losing by a neck, immediately after the claim, then reeled off five consecutive victories.

“We thought that she was good, and we thought that she was showing good potential, so we wanted to keep her,” Hollendorfer said. “We ran out of conditions, so the next step was to try her in a stakes. And she proved she could do that, and she just kept going.”

Vasilika won the Grade 2 John C. Mabee in her stakes debut, then added victories in the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive and Grade 2 Goldikova.

Her winning streak ended at eight when she finished fourth — losing by 2 lengths — behind three East Coast horses in the Grade 1 Matriarch at Del Mar to end her 2018 campaign.

“If you look at that race, it was just loaded with good horses, and she didn’t get a good trip,” Hollendorfer said. “It was still a good race, and we never thought less of her because of it.”

Vasilika’s major asset is her finishing kick, and it’s most effective when she gets to the outside in the stretch.

“She kind of makes her own way of going and then she has that big turn of foot, and that helps her win,” Hollendorfer said.

One change for Vasilika in Saturday’s 11⁄16mile race is jockey Julien Leparoux instead of Flavien Prat, who has been aboard for her past 13 starts.

Even with Vasilika’s race, Hollendorfer is aware that his court issues are not settled. A San Diego County Superior Court judge has set a status conference for Oct. 25 on Hollendorfer’s ability to train in Del Mar’s fall season, which begins Nov. 8

“I’m happy to be able to saddle her, but it took a great deal of work to get to that point,” he said.