Baffert filly Ellafitz wins Bayakoa at Hollywood

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) - Ellafitz, a 4-year-old filly from the barn of Bob Baffert, led all the way and easily won the $150,000 Bayakoa Handicap on Sunday at Hollywood Park.

Coming off a three-month layoff, Ellafitz and jockey Martin Garcia went straight to the lead in the Grade 2 stakes for fillies and mares and pulled away from the field in the homestretch for her first stakes win, beating Miss Mittagong by 3 1/4 lengths and covering 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.69 to win her first stakes.

Ellafitz paid $11.80, $6.60 and $5. Miss Mittagong returned $8.80 and $4.80. Bauble Queen was third and paid $3.20 to show.

The heavy favorite, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's City to City, was never close to the lead and finished fifth.

Ellafitz, a daughter of Tiznow owned since 2009 by Ella Sivage, has won four times in 12 starts and earned $230,857.

``The owner's name is Ella and I told her there's a horse we need to buy and she loved this horse because her name was Ellafitz,'' said Baffert. ``I think this race may have been her best by far.''

Bauble Queen was ridden by Martin Pedroza, who took over for Rafael Bejarano after he reported discomfort from an incident in the fifth race in which he lost his irons. Bejarano was taken to a hospital for precautionary X-rays on his right foot and took off his final three mounts.