GEARING FOR ACTION.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse racing ARCADIA - The ceremonial first tout of the Kentucky Derby prep season was tossed out Thursday, on an impossibly clear February morning at Santa Anita, as a handsome bay colt walked off the effects of a short workout. ``Take a look,'' Jim Pegram, agent for jockey David Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the , said with a nod across the homestretch home·stretch n. 1. The portion of a racetrack from the last turn to the finish line. 2. Informal The final stages of an undertaking. Noun 1. rail toward Action This Day. ``There's your Derby winner.'' And so it begins. Derby season has no official opening day, no Midnight Madness, no Iowa Caucuses. The closest thing to a campaign kickoff comes when the 2-year-old champion returns to action. Thus the anticipation for Action This Day's 3-year-old debut in the $75,000 Sham Stakes on Sunday. Action This Day faces two supposed jinxes, none of the 19 previous Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. winners and none of the past 23 2-year-old champions having gone on to win the Derby. But the Richard Mandella-trained colt is rightfully considered a contender for the May 1 Derby, May 15 Preakness and June 5 Belmont Stakes, rated near the top of most experts' lists in a winter without an absolute standout. One popular choice, Nick Zito-trained Eurosilver, returned from a break to win easily in an allowance-level sprint at Gulfstream Park on Wednesday. Another, Second of June, beat Silver Wagon in the Holy Bull Stakes The Holy Bull Stakes, once known as the Preview Stakes, is a race for thoroughbred horses dedicated to the famous race horse Holy Bull. It is held in April at Gulfstream Park and open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. at Gulfstream on Jan. 17. The weeks ahead will see the rolling out of Zito's Birdstone and The Cliff's Edge; Lion Heart, Tiger Hunt, Perfect Moon, Cuvee Cuvée (or Cuvee on some English language labels) is a French term used on wine labels to denote wine of a specific blend or batch. The word originates from the French word cuve meaning "vat". , Chapel Royal; and three other Mandella products, Minister Eric, Spellbinder spell·bind·er n. One that holds others spellbound, especially an enthralling speaker or a particularly interesting book. Noun 1. and 2-year-old fillies champion Halfbridled. But for starters, it's Action This Day in the 1 1/8-mile Sham, where he's expected to face Master David, the Bobby Frankel-trained colt who was second to Read the Footnotes in the Remsen and third to St. Averil and Lucky Pulpit in the Santa Catalina, and Borrego, Preachinatthebar, Totally Platinum, True Contender and Winner From Mars. ``I expect him to run pretty good,'' Mandella said as he headed back to his barn after watching Action This Day and Flores cover 3 furlongs in 35 3/5 seconds Thursday in a final workout for the Sham. ``But he's only raced three times. He might choose this one to make his mistakes.'' Action This Day will be a short-priced favorite Sunday for a race he doesn't particularly need to win. The son of Kris S. was 26-1 when he won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last October at Santa Anita after running last in the 12-horse field on the backstretch back·stretch n. The part of an oval racecourse farthest from the spectators and opposite the homestretch. . ``I want to see the same kind of thing,'' Mandella said while indicating Action This Day has grown over the winter. ``I don't want to change anything if I can help it.'' Mandella said he hasn't decided what Action This Day will do between the Sham and the April 3 Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. , the major western steppingstone to Churchill Downs. The trainer's choice likely is between the March 6 San Rafael and the March 14 San Felipe. Pegram hinted Mandella's low-key demeanor might be an act. ``Every time he (Action This Day) goes out there,'' the agent said, ``I see Mandella doing a hop, skip and jump a game or athletic sport in which the participants cover as much ground as possible by a hop, stride, and jump in succession. a short distance. - Addison. See also: Hop Hop .'' The Triple Crown's early-nominee list of 434 3-year-olds includes 35 trained by Todd Pletcher, a record for one barn. Zito (a Derby winner with Strike the Gold and Go for Gin Go for Gin (foaled 1991 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred racehorse most well known as the winner of the 1994 Kentucky Derby. He was sired by Cormorant out of the dam Never Knock. ), nominated 22. Bob Baffert (Silver Charm, Real Quiet, War Emblem) and D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. (Winning Colors, Thunder Gulch, Grindstone grindstone or grind common metaphor for industriousness. [Pop. Culture: Misc.] See : Industriousness , Charismatic) nominated 19 each. ``There's not really a marquee horse,'' Lukas said Thursday. ``If you like one, you'd have to like 10. Most of the (top) horses have won one (stakes) race, but nobody has put together a string of them. I think it's going to take another five, six weeks to sort things out.'' The Sham is part of the nation's busiest stakes weekend so far in 2004. --At Santa Anita on Saturday, the $300,000 Strub Stakes draws a field of 11 4-year-olds, including 2003 Santa Anita Derby winner Buddy Gil (Gary Stevens riding), recent San Fernando winner During (Flores) and Cigar Mile runner-up Midas Eyes (Alex Solis). --Also in Arcadia on Saturday, the $150,000 San Vicente has six 3-year- olds sprinting 7 furlongs, led by Hosco (Tyler Baze), who never has trailed in three starts at 6 furlongs. --At Gulfstream on Saturday, the $500,000 Donn Handicap finds 2003 Strub winner Medaglia d'Oro (Jerry Bailey) trying to deny Funny Cide (Jose Santos) his first victory since the Preakness. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE - Kevin Modesti |
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