February 2, 1998
February 2, 1998
SANTA ANITA
The race that followers of Southern California 3-year-olds were waiting for surprised some and confirmed the hopes of others when Artax blew away the field in the $100,000 Santa Catalina Stakes (gr. III) at Santa Anita on Sunday. Souvenir Copy, the winner of the Norfolk Stakes (gr. II) and the Del Mar Futurity (gr. II) before finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), finished a distant second while running like a colt not on top of his game. He appeared to be trying, but performed with difficulty nevertheless. Known for displacing his soft palate (which causes difficulty breathing) in past races, Souvenir Copy appeared to have done so again. Artax, on the other hand, demonstrated an improvement that had been hinted at while training extremely well since his loss to Futuristic in his last outing. Trainer Randy Bradshaw had been raving about this colt, which obviously loves distance, and even felt that although Artax had only won once in four tries, the colt could have been undefeated with better luck. The race opened with Artax and Allen's Oop vying for the lead, with Souvenir Copy tracking them at first. Approaching the far turn, Souvenir Copy rushed up to within a half-length of the leaders, but couldn't get past them. Entering the stretch, Artax exploded as Souvenir Copy put Allen's Oop away but staggered down the stretch in Artax's wake. Hand-ridden to a 5 1/2-length victory in time 1:42.32 for the 1 1/16 miles, Artax vindicated Chris McCarron's choice to ride the Paraneck Stable colt instead of Souvenir Copy. Allen's Oop was third, with Futuristic fourth. Skeaping, D. Wayne Lukas' well-regarded maiden winner, never fired and finished last.In Saturday's $200,000 Palos Verdes Handicap (gr. III) for 4-year-olds and up, Santa Anita featured sprinters going six furlongs. The stellar field included Elmhurst, the first appearance back by a Breeders' Cup champion. Unfortunately, Elmhurst came up short in what was a wire-to-wire performance by Funontherun. The Mel Stute trainee came to the race ready and dueled with Red and Paying Dues all the way down the stretch. Elmhurst split horses to finish third, as Funontherun held off Red by a half-length in deep stretch to win in time 1:08.93 under jockey Goncalino Almeida. Paying Dues ended up fourth, followed by Venus Genus, The Exeter Man, Larry the Legend, Trafalgar, and Swiss Yodeler. Funontherun's owner, Dave Alpert, was so excited by the victory that he is now considering running the colt in the March 7 Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I).
GULFSTREAM
In addition to the stakes run over the weekend at the Florida track, Gulfstream held a much-watched allowance race on Saturday's card that had everyone buzzing about Lil's Lad's performance. An attempt to teach the colt to relax failed miserably as the colt ran away with Jerry Bailey, leaving the field behind easily by 10 lengths. Tiring through the stretch, Lil's Lad finished the 1 1/16 miles in time 1:43 4/5, leaving Halory Hunter 6-1/2 lengths behind in second with Reporter third.The big race of Saturday was the $100,000 Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II) for 3-year-olds, which trainer D. Wayne Lukas won with Overbrook Farm's homebred Time Limit. Lukas has now won all the major 3-year-old races in the East leading to the Florida Derby (gr. I) on March 14. Time Limit was hard-pressed in the stretch by a fast-closing Coronado's Quest, and if the race had been any longer, the Shug McGaughey-trained colt would have won the seven furlong test. Time Limit rated well in third before making his move on Zippy Zeal at the head of the stretch. He had a two-length advantage when Coronado's Quest finally got into gear and came with a rush, but the wire appeared just in the nick of time to give Time Limit the victory in time 1:22 1/5. Jerry Bailey was aboard the winner, as he has been for almost every stakes race at Gulfstream Park this winter. Zippy Zeal finished third.
In Sunday's $75,000 Sabin Handicap (gr. III) for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up, Julie Krone piloted the upset winner, Radiant Megan to the filly's first graded stakes victory. Radiant Megan is trained by Allen Jerkens, known for his ability to knock off top competition with lightly regarded talent, and the 4-year-old's defeat of Escena only added to Jerkens' reputation. Radiant Megan had been running well enough in allowance company at Aqueduct to pick up a check now and then but found her first win in nine months when Jerkens took her to Gulfstream Park for a $50,000 allowance race. Heavily favored Escena under Jerry Bailey finished second, with Biding Time third. Radiant Megan's time for the mile and 70 yards was 1:41 4/5 for her owner, Hobeau Farm's J. J. Dreyfus Jr.
FAIR GROUNDS
Saturday was a big day for Overbrook Farm and trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Shortly after the team won the Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park, they took the $100,000 Lecomte Handicap for 3-year-olds going a mile with Western City, a son of Carson City. Ridden by Robby Albarado, Western City went straight to the lead as favored Captain Maestri tracked him down the backstretch. Captain Maestri had won the Black Gold Handicap, a five-and-a-half furlong event on turf in his last race, but showed that he was just as formidable on dirt as he challenged the winner the length of the stretch. Western City won by a scant nose over Captain Maestri, with Slick Report third. Western City's two other victories were at the Fair Grounds, and were also accomplished going wire-to-wire. Six horses have won the Lecomte on the way to taking the Louisiana Derby (gr. III). In the 90's, Line in the Sand (1992) and Dixieland Heat (1993) performed the double.Sunday's $75,000 Tiffany Lass Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going a mile is a stepping-stone to the Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. III), and was the first race back after a three-month layoff for undefeated Silver Maiden. Cool Dixie took advantage of the favorite's need for a freshener and the absence of Star of Broadway to capture the Tiffany Lass for owner/trainer Louie Roussel III. Roussel leads the Fair Grounds owner standings and is second in the trainer standings, but it took jockey Ronald Ardoin, second in the jockey standings, to convince him to run the filly. Cool Dixie watched Silver Maiden burn on the lead from her position in fourth until the far turn, then moved up between horses and dueled with Mrsneversatisfied down the stretch. Cool Dixie held on to win by a head in time 1:38.01, equaling the stakes record. Silent Eskimo finished third another 4 * lengths back. The filly now has four wins and two seconds from seven starts.