Gentlemen (above) and Silver Charm (below) have one thing in common besides being multiple grade 1 winners... Gary Stevens (aboard both horses pictured) is the regular rider for both horses. Gary must choose which horse he will ride in the Santa Anita Handicap, March 7.

Santa Anita's Spectacular Weekend by K. T. Donovan Santa Anita put on one heck of a show this past weekend, staking a legitimate claim to having the best horses in the country stabled on its backside with the top trainers handling them. With four graded stakes, and so many top competitors that some were sent to run at Turf Paradise, the beautiful track in Southern California exhibited racing at its best. Especially after the announcement of the Eclipse Awards, observers of the sport have been anxious to see the 1997 champions in action in 1998, wondering if the electricity generated by the stars could be sustained into the new year. Speculation about Gentlemen, the best horse in training through much of 1997, who unfortunately fell ill shortly before the Breeders' Cup and missed the Classic (gr. I), was fueled by Skip Away's being awarded the Older Male Eclipse. Would the Argentinean import regain the form that made him virtually unstoppable? Would he be able to handle Skip Away like he had last year in the Pimlico Special (gr. I)? And the new 4-year-olds, Silver Charm and the others who made the Triple Crown so thrilling last year, what about them? And then there were the new 3-year-olds, the horses that were just beginning to make names for themselves, trying out their legs to see if they had wings. Would they be Kentucky Derby (gr. I) material? Santa Anita provided answers to all these questions. Early on Saturday, five late-developing 3-year-olds met in the $100,000 San Vicente Stakes (gr. II) at seven furlongs. The most seasoned of them, Search Me, had won the Beau Brummel at Fairplex in his debut, but had not won since, but also had yet to finish out of the money. Pleasant Drive, a winner of two of three, had not run since October, the longest layoff of them all. Late Edition won his first race in November, but in two subsequent stakes attempts, had been content to stay in the middle of the pack throughout. The two horses that had most of the attention focused on them were Sea of Secrets, a Neil Drysdale-trained homebred for Irving and Marjorie Cowan who had won a maiden race and an allowance race by a combined margin of seven lengths. The other colt of note was Orville N Wilbur's, whose attention was not just because of his name. While finishing fourth in his debut, he had just missed winning, and had won decisively in his next two outings. This was step-up-to-the-plate time for all of these colts. Despite all the rain that Santa Anita had to contend with in the days leading up to the big weekend, the track was good by the time the colts loaded into the gate. Sea of Secrets led from the beginning, but Late Edition would not leave him alone. Search Me and Pleasant Drive brought up the rear, while Orville N Wilbur's preferred to stay close to the pace. Approaching the far turn, Orville N Wilbur's suddenly drifted out and backwards, and Late Edition and Sea of Secrets went head to head the length of the stretch. Pleasant Drive moved out of Orville N Wilbur's way and closed very strongly, diminishing the gap between him and the front two with each ground-eating stride. Sea of Secrets finally put away his tenacious rival in the final strides to win by a length, but Pleasant Drive hit the wire only another half-length behind them, and passed them both just after the finish. Kent Desormeaux had been the regular rider of both Sea of Secrets and Pleasant Drive, and appeared to have made the right choice for the San Vicente. However, Eddie Delahoussaye on Pleasant Drive might just be the beneficiary of Desormeaux's early choice. Sea of Secrets completed the seven furlongs in time 1:22 while suffering with a breathing problem. The two will meet again in the San Rafael Stakes (gr. II) at one mile on March 1.

Photos by L. A. Williams

Gentlemen roared out of his four-month layoff in an aggressive style that made Skip Away's victory in the Donn Handicap (gr. I) earlier in the day look wimpy. The $300,000 San Antonio Handicap (gr. II) for 4-year-olds and up pitted the Richard Mandella-trainee against fellow Argentine import and stablemate Refinado Tom. That horse was coming off an impressive victory in the Native Diver Handicap (gr. III) and posed a threat. Dramatic Gold, always a factor, had run a solid second in his first start back after missing all of 1997 while recovering from a fractured sesamoid. This race was more a test of fitness for Gentlemen, who had suffered a throat ulcer but gave his all anyway in the Woodbine Mile (gr. IT), his only race where he finished poorly. Since then, the colt had been training like a monster, but how he would perform on the track remained in question. There should have been no doubt. Carrying the highest weight of any San Antonio participant in nine years, Gentlemen ran in third pressing the pace behind Refinado Tom and Da Bull most of the way. As Dramatic Gold drew alongside him, Gentlemen appeared to shake his head and snort at the large horse next to him. He looked like he was distracted, then suddenly exploded away from the field. Jockey Gary Stevens looked around for competition as Gentlemen widened his lead to six lengths over Da Bull, and he eased him the last 70 yards. Nevertheless, Gentlemen's time of 1:47.60 for the 1 1/8 miles was 2.4 seconds faster than Skip Away's time at the same distance in the Donn, and any thought that that rival might come West to try the California horses in the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) evaporated.

Another gray competitor for top handicap horse duplicated Gentlemen's effort two races later in the Strub Stakes (gr. II), however, setting the stage for a dramatic Big Cap on March 7. Silver Charm showed a maturity that could give Gentlemen pause a month from now. After a stretch-long duel in the San Fernando Stakes (gr. II) with Mud Route, Silver Charm's readiness to take on the cream of last year's handicap division was still a question. He is undoubtedly the best 4-year-old currently back racing, but was he ready for the likes of Gentlemen and Skip Away? Silver Charm seemed not to have any doubts. He was so relaxed in the post parade one might have thought he was out for a morning stroll. His confidence proved justified. In a race run similarly to Gentlemen's, Silver Charm ran the first part of the Strub in third behind the leaders, Mud Route and Tru Story, yet another contender from Richard Mandella's deep bench of talent. Ranging up on the inside, Mud Route closed off the way for Silver Charm and jockey Stevens had to pull him back, and go around Tru Story. Around the far turn, Tru Story nicked his leg with a toe grab and pulled up as Mud Route and Silver Charm set down for another duel. The head-to-head hookup only lasted a few strides, however, as Silver Charm suddenly burst away, for the first time not stopping once his head was in front. Stevens, lucky enough to be the colt's regular rider since March of last year, said, "He gave me a run like he never has. Usually he puts something in reserve, but this time when he got clear he put on the afterburners." The winning margin was four lengths over Mud Route in time 1:47.27 for the 1 1/8 miles.

Santa Anita did not end its spectacular weekend with Silver Charm's triumph. On Sunday, the fillies got their chance at a rematch when the first three finishers of the El Encino Stakes (gr. II) returned for the $200,000 La Canada Stakes (gr. II), the filly version of the Strub. The fillies have the La Canada Series as a parallel to the males' Strub Series, a three-race set intended to graduate the 3-year-olds turning four into readiness for competition with the older horses of their division. The La Canada Series had been overshadowed by the return of Silver Charm in the Strub Series, so the fillies had been building a rivalry rather quietly. In the La Brea Stakes (gr. I), I Ain't Bluffing won over Minister's Melody with Praviana third. The second leg saw Fleet Lady moved up to first when I Ain't Bluffing was disqualified for interfering in the stretch of the El Encino. Minister's Melody also moved up, to second, while I Ain't Bluffing was placed third. The La Canada brought the three back together, in another race with a crowded stretch run. Love That Jazz led with I Ain't Bluffing breathing down her neck. Fleet Lady was walled in behind those two and Minister's Melody. Sister Queen on her outside kept her pinned. Late in the stretch, she still had nowhere to go. Suddenly, jockey Garrett Gomez found room and split the two leaders to burst through with a 1 1/2 length victory in time 1:48.59 for the 1 1/8 miles. Minister's Melody was again second, with I Ain't Bluffing third, duplicating the post-disqualification order of the El Encino.

Santa Anita's weekend of stars turning in dynamic performances provided a backdrop to ancillary activities, such as the Chinese New Year celebration on Sunday. Also on Sunday, Craig Perret was presented with the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award at Santa Anita. The track has made a concerted effort this year to put a better foot forward, with improved marketing and renovations first unveiled last fall at the Oak Tree meeting. The efforts paid off in a 22.1 percent increase over last year in the total handle wagered on the Strub, as fans came out to see Silver Charm. The charismatic horse with equally charming connections encouraged the on and off-site bettors to wager a total of $1,981,782. Saturday's total handle of $16,399,763 represented a 3.2 percent increase over the handle on last year's Strub Day, which can be attributed to Gentlemen's much-anticipated return on the same day.

Bob and Beverly Lewis, owners of Silver Charm, and R.D. Hubbard, owner of Gentlemen, are looking forward to the Santa Anita Handicap, when their mighty runners will be in the same race, not on the same card. There seems to be no better place to stage such a climactic battle than Santa Anita, which so far this meeting has been living up to its slogan as the Great Race Place.

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