El Roblar wins Inglewood Handicap at Hollywood Park

Although he hasn’t run often as he nears the halfway point of his 6-year-old campaign, El Roblar has been a pretty frequent visitor to the winner’s circle.

A victory in the $109,500 Inglewood Handicap on Saturday at Hollywood Park was his sixth in only 14 starts for the son of War Chant.

Content to sit well off the pace of runaway leader and eventual last-place finisher Ghosttrapper, El Roblar, the 8-5 favorite, edged 11-1 shot Heroi Do Bafra by half a length in the Grade III. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles on turf was 1:40.35.

The win was the second in six outings on grass for El Roblar, who is owned by Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables LLC and trained by Richard Mandella. Victor Espinoza rode the winner, which isn’t a surprise in the Inglewood.

Espinoza has now won the race four times in the last nine years. His other victories came with Montemiro (2000), Night Patrol (2002) and Willow O Wisp (2006).

“It worked out perfect,” said Espinoza, who also won the sixth with Hemet and the 11th with Rydell. “I wasn’t worried about the horse in front because I knew he was going fast. I was just focusing on my horse. I wanted him to be comfortable and let him run the way he wants to. Turning for home, I didn’t have to do too much. The last sixteenth I had to get into him a little bit to get him to keep going.”

The runner-up finish was the fifth in eight starts in the U.S. for Heroi Do Bafra, whose last win came on April 16, 2006 in his native Brazil. Uffizi finished third and 3-1 second choice Get Funky was fourth.

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There is a double pick six carry-over of more than $387,380 for Sunday at Hollywood Park.

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The beaten favorite in the Comely in her return to New York on April 12, Zaftig rebounded with a victory over favored Carolyn’s Cat in the $200,000 Nassau County at Belmont Park.

The win was the second in four races for the 3-year-old Gone West filly, who’s owned by Susan Moore and M and M Thoroughbred and trained by Jimmy Jerkens.

bob.mieszerski@latimes.com