IT'S THOSE LITTLE THINGS; MANDELLA PAYS CLOSE ATTENTION TO GOLD CUP DETAILS.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer Apparently nobody told Richard Mandella not to sweat the small stuff Sweat the Small Stuff is a standup comedy special performed by Kevin James of King of Queens. It has been seen on Comedy Central and released on DVD. Kevin performs hilarious standup on various subjects based on annoyances of everyday life, hence the title. . Maybe that explains the trainer's late-'90s domination of California's heavyweight horse races, million-dollar events like today's 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. , in which his Malek and Puerto Madero will make up half of a field that includes 1998 Kentucky Derby winner Real Quiet and ex-claimer and likely pacesetter Budroyale. Mandella's obsession with details - call it a healthy respect for Murphy's Law - was on display at the Gold Cup post-position draw ceremony Thursday morning. He showed off his self-deprecating wit in discussing his decision to put blinkers blinkers 1. rigid pieces of leather fitted to a head harness at a point where they will obstruct the horse's lateral vision. 2. a more sophisticated piece of harness worn by expensive horses consisting of a canvas head-covering with holes for the ears to protrude and two on the slumping Puerto Madero. ``I couldn't think of anything else to do,'' Mandella said. Then a fresh worry enveloped en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" him. He looked like a vacationer who suddenly realized he had left the stove on. ``I hope I put it (`blinkers') on the entry card,'' Mandella said. ``You think I'm joking. I'm serious. Will somebody from the racing office please check?!'' Mandella always frets about what might go wrong, and that might be why things have gone so right in these million-dollar races, earning the 48-year-old San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. resident a Hall of Fame nomination this year. Hubbard and Dwight Sutherland's 5-year-old Puerto Madero (ridden by Kent Desormeaux) and Chilean-owned 6-year-old Malek (Alex Solis) will try to give Mandella his third Gold Cup victory, following Siphon in '96 and Gentlemen in '97. That would lift Mandella into a tie with Buster Millerick, whose Native Diver won three in the '60s, for second on the Gold Cup trainers' list behind eight-time winner Charlie Whittingham. A victory today would also be Mandella's seventh in the Gold Cup, the 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 and Del Mar's Pacific Classic, California's major races for older thoroughbreds. He won a stunning six in a row, including Dare and Go's '96 Pacific Classic upset of Cigar, Gentlemen's '97 Pacific Classic, Siphon's '97 Big 'Cap and Malek's '98 Big 'Cap. Mandella's hold on these races includes 1-2-3 finishes in the '97 Big 'Cap (Siphon-Sandpit-Gentlemen) and Gold Cup (Gentlemen-Siphon-Sandpit). Before that Cup, in which he trained five of the six entrants, Mandella's paranoia overflowed. He said that if he lost he'd have to crawl out of Hollywood Park under the grandstand. Although Chilean-breds Malek and Puerto Madero enter today's 1-1/4-miler with question marks, their trainer has expressed optimism this week, particularly after Old Trieste (foot abscess abscess, localized inflamation associated with tissue necrosis. Abscesses are characterized by inflamation, which is due to the accumulation of pus in the local tissues, and often painful swelling. ) dropped out. Puerto Madero looked like the nation's top handicap horse when he beat Behrens and Silver Charm in the Donn Handicap in Florida in January. But he was fifth every step in the Big 'Cap, won by since-injured Free House, and an indifferent third in the Californian, won by Old Trieste. ``In some of his races he tends to make a game of it and see how far back off the pace he can be,'' Mandella said. Hence the blinkers, which tend to make a horse keener early in a race. A first or second would vault Puerto Madero over Behrens to the top of the points table after seven of 11 races in the ``NTRA NTRA National Thoroughbred Racing Association NTRA National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (Egypt) NTRA National Training Reform Agenda NTRA Nano Technology Research Association (Korea) Champions on Fox'' series. ``I hope I've got Puerto Madero back on track,'' Mandella said. ``Hoping is a big part of training.'' Malek has banked $1.1 million in 1999 despite going winless in three races - a second to Silver Charm in the San Pasqual, a second to Free House in the San Antonio and a second behind local longshot Almutawakel but ahead of Victory Gallop in the $5 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, . Malek hasn't won since the '98 Big 'Cap - a four-horse race, as is today's. He hasn't started since the grueling Dubai trip. But he won following a seven-month layoff earlier in a career broken up by back problems. ``My two horses are good enough to win this race if they're on their best day,'' Mandella said. ``We'll just have to find out if they are.'' Notes: Three Ring, who dominated the Florida fillies' division before running last in the Kentucky Derby, was killed when she flipped and struck her head and fractured her skull in the Belmont Park paddock before Saturday's Mother Goose. The race was won by Dreams Gallore and Robby Albarado. ``It was a terrible accident and everyone suffers from it,'' Albarado said of Three Ring's death. . . . 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. winner General Challenge ($3.20) and 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 swung outside and outkicked Desert Hero to win the Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park in a race-record 1:40 4/5. It was General Challenge's first start since running 11th in the Kentucky Derby. . . . Manistique ($3) and Chris McCarron overpowered o·ver·pow·er tr.v. o·ver·pow·ered, o·ver·pow·er·ing, o·ver·pow·ers 1. To overcome or vanquish by superior force; subdue. 2. To affect so strongly as to make helpless or ineffective; overwhelm. 3. the Vanity Handicap. She's 8 for 10 - 8 for 8 in California. Gourmet Girl ran last. . . . Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs (3/4 mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the winner Reraise (tendon) is out of today's Triple Bend. . . . Laffit Pincay outpointed 11 riders to win the four-race NTRA's All-Star Jockey Challenge at Lone Star Park Lone Star Park is a horse racing track located in Grand Prairie, Texas. History Lone Star Park opened in 1997. The track offers separate meets for Thoroughbred racing and Quarter Horse racing. In October of 2002, Magna Entertainment Corp. near Dallas. Pincay, 52, posted one victory in that Friday competition and another Saturday at Hollywood to move within 75 of Bill Shoemaker's record 8,833. HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP LINEUP Four horses are entered in today's Hollywood Gold Cup, a 1-1/4-mile race for 3-year-olds and up. The purse is $1 million, of which the winner will get $600,000. Each horse carries 124 pounds. PP Horse Jockey Odds (x) 1 Malek Alex Solis 7-2 2 Real Quiet Jerry Bailey 7-5 3 Budroyale Garrett Gomez 5-2 4 Puerto Madero Kent Desormeaux 2-1 (x) Morning-line odds set by Hollywood Park's Russell Hudak. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: HOLLYWOOD GOLD CUP LINEUP (see text) |
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