I noticed something odd in this filly's past performances for the Senorita (which was marred by the fatal breakdown of winner Bobina). She ran against the boys in four straight maiden special weights to end her year at 2. These were routes at Golden Gate, two on synthetic, and two on turf. The best guess is that these races were not being run for fillies, and despite a couple of placings previously sprinting on the dirt at Santa Rosa, Jerry Hollendorfer liked Via Villaggio's chances better against the boys at a distance than against the girls sprinting. She was eventually good enough to win the maiden special weight intended for males. The three straight Horse of the Year fillies and mares, as well as Rags to Riches in 2007, facilitate a cavalier attitude about the difference in ability between the sexes, but I know of no work suggesting there is not a healthy difference on the average. So one wonders if the Golden Gate male maiden special weights were really the best solution to this problem, particularly because Via Villaggio was not running for more money for going against the males. Could she have been sent against winners instead? Maybe in a stake at Golden Gate against fillies, if such a race existed? (and it probably didn't) What about running in Southern California against her own sex?
I checked Via Villaggio's maiden victory to see if the race had a few fillies in it, to see if sex integration was flourishing at Golden Gate through the stinginess and discipline of the racing secretary. There was one other filly in Via Villaggio's maiden win, but that was another Jerry Hollendorfer trainee, Light Up the Sky.
Via Villaggio finished 5th on Saturday, by the way. She was only beaten 3 1/2 lengths, but it was only a seven-horse field, and does not appear to have been a strong race.
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