June 11 - This Thursday, Hollywood Park Racecourse in Ingelwood, California, will be the venue for what should be an exciting showdown in the California-bred 2-year-old maidens, between two betting favorites, Fassnacht and Triumphant Flight, out of the 9 horse field.

While Fassnacht has a accident-prone history, the 2-year-old gelding seems to be in top form, making his third start in 5 weeks. His trainer, Mike Harrington said that Fassnacht is an extremely 'high-energy' horse, one that could probably be run once a week.

'While there are many racehorses that cannot be run too often, Fassnacht seems to be one of the rare runners that recovers quickly after each race. We feel that he is more than ready to give the crowd something to cheer about come Thursday,' said Harrington.

Triumphant Flight, a first-time starter, has been training hard for the race, having completed a barrage of fast workouts under the watchful eye of his trainer, Eric Kruljac. The 2-year-old has an excellent lineage, coming from a dam that has produced three stakes winners.

Said Kruljac, 'We are carefully optimistic about Triumphant Flight because while he is a hard worker and has a natural ability, he is very inexperienced nonetheless. We are still a little uncertain about his future and don't want him burn himself out on his first-ever outing.'

The trainer went on to say that for him winning first time out is never a priority with regard to his 2-year-olds, admitting that his statistics with first-starters were not overly impressive. Kruljac said his priorities lay in ensuring his first-time horses had a positive racing experience.

The other starters in Thursday's 2-year-old maidens race at Hollywood Park are Speaking, Tiz Again Roused, Papoose La Moose, Tudor Blue, Mendota Bay, Island Run, and Podger also are in the field.