Coach Mazzula Goes the Distance for $125,000 Hilltop Victory

Second Straight Stakes Win on Card for Trainer Brittany Russell

LAUREL, MD – Madaket Stables’ Coach Mazzula, making her stakes debut, jumped out to an early lead and held off a furious late bid by favored stakes winner Ultimate Love nearing the wire to register a thrilling head victory in Saturday’s $125,000 Hilltop presented by MyRacehorse at Laurel Park.

The 54th running of the Hilltop for 3-year-old fillies going a two-turn mile on the grass was the second of six stakes, three graded, worth $1.05 million in purses on a spectacular 14-race Black-Eyed Susan (G2) Day program headlined by the 102nd edition of the 1 1/8-mile fixture for 3-year-old fillies.

Coach Mazzula ($11.20) covered a firm All Along turf course in 1:35.52 under jockey Jevian Toledo to give trainer Brittany Russell her third victory of the day and second straight in a stakes, following Peach Tie in the $150,000 Miss Preakness (G3).

Toledo steered Coach Mazzula between Ultimate Love and Siouxse following a sharp break and went straight for the front, gaining an early advantage before taking a hold and slowing down the pace to 24.15 seconds for the opening quarter of a mile. Siouxse pressed in second to her outside with Ultimate Love rating along the rail in third.

Coach Mazzula went the half in 48.89 seconds when she began to spurt away from the field and opened up by three lengths at the head of the stretch. Ultimate Love, unraced since finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) Oct. 31, moved outside to commence her bid and came up just short after a steady run.

It was 1 ¼ lengths back to Brat Pack in third, followed by Siouxse, Use Me and Unmiztaken. I Love Giraffes was scratched.

Coach Mazzula fetched $125,000 as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton’s August 2024 sale at Saratoga. She had never been worse than third in her first six races, two of them wins, including a last-out victory over older horses going 1 1/16 miles on the Laurel turf April 18. Her stablemate that day, Taj Mahal, won the Federico Tesio to earn an automatic bid in Saturday’s 151st Preakness Stakes (G1).

The Hilltop is a shortened version of historic Pimlico Race Course’s long-standing nickname, Old Hilltop, in recognition of a large infield hill once prominent for viewing races. The hill was leveled in 1938. Pimlico is currently being rebuilt.

$125,000 Hilltop Quotes

Winning trainer Brittany Russell (Coach Mazzula): “That is the plan this weekend. I am just trying to do the job. I am just trying to focus on the next one. They are all in some tough races here, so we are happy with what we get right now.”

“I thought looking at the race she should go, and it was a matter of if she could hold them off. That is how she likes to run. Looking at the race, it made sense to take control of it. I think (jockey Javien Toledo) got her to go easy early and speed has been good on this turf course. It gave us some confidence. She is a good training filly, and she likes to run along free.”

Winning jockey Jevian Toledo (Coach Mazzula): “She put me in a good spot. She relaxed beautifully today, and when I asked her, she was there for me. I was trying to save more for the end. She'd been running great. But this is tougher competition, better runners. So I just tried to wait more for the last part. In the program, we all know that [favorite Ultimate Love] was the filly to beat. My filly was pretty brave. When she saw that one on the outside, she kept trying and kept going."

Trainer Michael Trombetta, Ultimate Love, 2nd): “It was a soft pace. If he would have had a little bit more of a target, it would have helped him. But she ran a good race. She hadn't run since October. I can't be upset with that. It was a good effort.”

Jockey John Velazquez (Ultimate Love, 2nd): “That was a tough one. No help for us, either, (with tepid pace). She run good, though. This moves her forward. Very good effort.”