HORSE OF THE YEAR SET FOR SANTA ANITA?Byline: KEVIN MODESTI ARCADIA - It has been a surprisingly long time since a reigning Horse of the Year raced at Santa Anita. It has been even longer since a reigning Horse of the Year won here. Tiznow aims to change that. Tiznow is set to begin his second season on the track by facing as many as 10 other 4-year-olds in the $250,000 San Fernando Stakes on Saturday. The California-bred's calendar also calls for starts in the Feb. 3 Strub Stakes and March 3 Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the late winter at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses three years old and up, and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during . In the middle of all that, Tiznow is expected to be named Horse of the Year and outstanding 3-year-old of 2000 when the Eclipse Awards are handed out Jan. 30 in New Orleans. The last Horse of the Year to open the following season at Santa Anita was Ferdinand in 1988. It wasn't an altogether pleasant experience for backers of the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner. Well-bet each time, Ferdinand finished second in the San Antonio (to Judge Angelucci), second in the Big 'Cap (to Alysheba) and second in the San Bernardino (to Alysheba, who was on his way to his own Horse of the Year prize). Ferdinand would race and lose three more times before retiring. The last Horse of the Year to win at Santa Anita the following season was John Henry in 1982. He needed the disqualification of Perrault to win that Big 'Cap. Since the days of John Henry and Ferdinand, every Horse of the Year either retired immediately or raced on the East Coast. Holy Bull was penciled in to run in the 1995 Big 'Cap before his career-ending breakdown at a February race in Florida. Knock on wood, fans here in Tiznow's native state can look forward to seeing a lot of him this year. Trainer Jay Robbins has outlined a schedule that makes major targets of the Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. at Hollywood Park and the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Robbins said Tiznow's owners have ruled out the $6 million Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on March 24, having seen how the journey has drained other horses. ``I haven't thought beyond (the Pacific Classic),'' Robbins said Thursday. Tiznow would have to go out of town eventually to defend his title in the Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. at Belmont Park in New York on Oct. 27. But that's a long way off. The immediate concern is the 1 1/16-mile San Fernando, a race Robbins won with Jack Kent Cooke's Flying Continental in 1990. Santa Anita officials had expected a small field for the 49th running of the San Fernando. So they were pleasantly surprised when 11 horses were entered Thursday morning, including graded stakes winners Walkslikeaduck (Del Mar Derby The Del Mar Derby is an American thoroughbred horse race run each year at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The race is open to horses of either gender, age three, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the turf. , Bay Meadows Derby The Bay Meadows Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses of either gender on the Longden Turf Course at Bay Meadows Racetrack. Bay Meadows is in San Mateo, California where it opened in 1934 and is home to the longest-running stakes event in California: the Bay ), David Copperfield (Cinema Handicap), Remember Sheikh (El Camino Real Derby The El Camino Real Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in late winter at Bay Meadows. The El Camino Real is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (8 and 1/2 furlongs) on the dirt. A Grade III event, it offers a purse of $200,000. ), New Advantage (Golden Gate Derby The Golden Gate Derby is a race for thoroughbred horses run each year at Golden Gate Fields at a distance of one and one sixteenth of a mile and open to three-year-olds. A Grade III event, also known as the California Derby, it offers a purse of $100,000. ), and Wooden Phone (third in the Malibu Stakes). Some of the 11 might be scratched once their handlers see Tiznow really is suiting up. With the Santa Anita track muddy as he spoke, Robbins said he'll seek jockey Chris McCarron's opinion of the footing Saturday. ``If Chris had any reservations, I wouldn't run him,'' Robbins said. Tiznow has never raced or worked out on wet going, but his Cee's Tizzy-Cee's Song pedigree suggests he'll handle it. And, in fact, his full brother Budroyale did very well on off tracks. Tiznow will wear an acrylic patch to protect a crack on his right forefoot forefoot /fore·foot/ (-foot) 1. one of the front feet of a quadruped. 2. the fore part of the foot. . Robbins said the injury cost the colt some training time but otherwise isn't a worry. He wore a similar patch when he won the Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park in July. ``He's doing well,'' Robbins said. The most obvious obstacle is Tiznow's post position. He drew post 11, on the far outside, and would have to hurry to get the early lead he enjoyed in winning the Super Derby, Goodwood and Breeders' Cup Classic last year. A year ago, Tiznow was a tenant at Harris Farms, near Coalinga, still three months away from his career debut after illness and injury wiped out a scheduled start in the fall of 1999. He finally raced for the first time April 22 at Santa Anita, and needed three tries to win for the first time at Hollywood Park on May 11. ``It's a lot different than eight months ago,'' Robbins said. Robbins acknowledged the pressure of managing the horse Santa Anita has billed as ``thoroughbred racing's hottest commodity.'' A victory Saturday isn't a must - but, the trainer said, ``I'd hate to see him get beat.'' Win or lose, seeing him at Santa Anita is good for local fans. OUT OF THE GATE SANTA ANITA LEADERS (Through Wednesday) Jockey Wins Laffit Pincay 13 Victor Espinoza 11 Kent Desormeaux 10 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 10 Alex Solis 8 Gary Stevens 8 Trainer Wins Bob Baffert 8 Bill Spawr 7 Ron Ellis 4 Juan Garcia 4 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. 4 PINCAY UPDATE Laffit Pincay, atop the jockey standings as Santa Anita began its second week, is going for his first title at the winter meet since 1988-89. Pincay's record career-wins total stands at 9,056. A WEEK AT THE RACES At The Races is a British television channel, originally co-founded with Channel 4, but now owned by a partnership between British Sky Broadcasting, Arena Leisure PLC and 28 (out of the 59) UK racecourses. Santa Anita's three-day weekend, with racing on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, includes Saturday's San Miguel, the first 3-year-old stakes of the season. D. Wayne Lukas-trained Unbridled Time, winner of the WHAS WHAS Women's Health and Aging Study WHAS Westchester Association of Hebrew Schools Stakes on the 2000 Kentucky Derby undercard, heads a field of seven. . . . More than 200 horseplayers will compete today and Saturday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in the second annual national handicapping tournament sponsored by the Daily Racing Form The Daily Racing Form, LLC (DRF) is a broadsheet newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race horses as a statistical service for bettors on horse racing in the United States. and National Thoroughbred Racing Association The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is the main governing body of Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States. They are also the main governing body of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. . First prize is $100,000 and a ``Handicapper of the Year'' prize to be presented at the Jan. 30 Eclipse Awards dinner in New Orleans. The contestants qualified in tournaments at tracks and other wagering sites around the country. . . . Chris Evert, the Hall of Fame filly named after the tennis star, is dead at the age of 30 in Kentucky. The champion 3-year-old filly of 1974 is remembered locally for her 50-length victory over Miss Musket in a $350,000 match race at Hollywood Park. . . . Two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Nick Zito said he'll appeal the 15-day suspension announced after the banned pain killer Lidocaine lidocaine /li·do·caine/ (li´do-kan) an anesthetic with sedative, analgesic, and cardiac depressant properties, applied topically in the form of the base or hydrochloride salt as a local anesthetic; also used in the latter form as a was found in one of his horses in New York. - Kevin Modesti ON THE STAKES SCHEDULE Santa Anita Saturday --$250,000 San Fernando Stakes, 4-year-olds, 1 1/16 miles --$100,000 San Miguel, 3-year-olds, 6 furlongs Sunday --$100,000 Sensational Star Handicap, California-bred 4-year-olds and up, 6 1/2 furlongs on turf CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: no caption (Laffit Pincay) Box: OUT OF THE GATE (see text) |
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