Lava Lane © Benoit Photo

Rick or Sharon Waller’s Lava Lane overcame traffic and space trouble in the lane Friday afternoon at Del Mar and came away a one and a half-length winner of the day’s $73,000 featured allowance race at five furlongs on the turf.

The 4-year-old homebred Unusual Heat filly was handled smartly by youthful veteran Ricky Gonzalez who got her off the rail near the sixteenth pole and hustled her home for the second tally of her brief six-race career. She earned a first prize of $43,200, which increased her bankroll to $111,660. She’s trained by Phil D’Amato.

Finishing second in the sprint for California-bred distaffers was Jeff Ganje’s Mamba Queen and running third was Baseline Equine’s pacesetter Keep Your Coil.

Lava Lane returned $5.20, $3.00 and $2.80 across the board. Mamba Queen paid $7.00 and $4.60, while Keep Your Coil returned $6.00 to show. The winner covered the five panels in :56.53.

Del Mar will be back in action on Saturday with a nine-race card highlighted by the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes. First post is at 12:30 p.m.