MALEK FIRST, GENTLEMEN LAST.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff Writer

In a 30-hour blink of an eye, the most anticipated Santa Anita Handicap in a decade became the least anticipated. Friday, an injury to the favorite reduced a ``showdown'' to a ``one-horse race.'' And Saturday, that one horse finished fourth.

Who could have anticipated this? Gentlemen, at 1-20 odds the heaviest favorite in Big 'Cap history, failed to beat a horse in the small field, while his stablemate Malek led virtually gate to wire to give trainer Richard Mandella a bittersweet victory.

``I really didn't think anybody, including Silver Charm, could beat Gentlemen,'' a bewildered Mandella said minutes after the race.

``It's a great feeling,'' said Alex Solis, who rode the winner, while Pat Day was aboard Gentlemen, ``but a little strange, too.''

Not long after Gentlemen's walk back to the barn, it was discovered that he suffered from respiratory bleeding during the race, a problem that has hampered the 6-year-old before even though he uses the anti-bleeding medication lasix.

``All we know for sure is, he bled significantly,'' said Mandella, who planned further examination today.

The way Gentlemen ran, pushing the pace for most of the 1-1/4 miles but losing his punch suddenly as he turned into the stretch between Malek and Bagshot, fit the pattern for a bleeder. So maybe the mystery of his performance, which left him 7-3/4 lengths behind Malek as he lost a duel with Don't Blame Rio for third, is solved.

Nevertheless, the $1 million race, held in beautiful weather in front of 27,212 fans at Santa Anita Park, might go down as the most shocking at a Southern California track. It certainly ranks with Arcangues, at 133-1 odds, winning the 1993 Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita, and Cigar, going for his 17th straight victory, being denied by Dare and Go (also a Mandella-Solis production) at Del Mar in 1996.

More than 85 percent of the money wagered to win and place was on Gentlemen, producing some funny-looking payoffs: $13.20 and $15.60 on Malek, and $29.80 on Bagshot.

Gentlemen, an Argentina-bred who earned more than $2 million last year for owner R.D. Hubbard, looked vigorous enough in the saddling paddock Saturday to allay concerns about a skin rash that bothered him for more than a week. But immediately after the race, before the bleeding was announced, the chance that the rash or the medication had taken something out of him seemed like the logical excuse.

``The only sure thing about this game is that there isn't a sure thing,'' said Day, who was named to ride Gentlemen after Gary Stevens committed to Silver Charm. ``I mean, he warmed up great, went to the gate good, felt good. We went around the (clubhouse) turn and into the backside, and I felt we were comfortably placed, but he never put his ears up and looked happy.''

Bagshot and Corey Nakatani challenged Gentlemen and Malek from the outside with three-eighths of a mile to go.

``When I called on him, he gave me just a short burst and then went to floundering,'' Day said.

Malek, a 5-year-old Chilean bred and owned by Francisco and Theresa Cortes of Santiago, won for the second time in three U.S. starts. His clocking, 2:02 1/5, was the slowest since 1962 for a Big 'Cap on a fast track.

Stevens watched the race on TV in the jockeys' room. He wondered if Silver Charm, who was sidelined with a bruised right forefoot, could have won on three good legs.

``There have just been some unbelievable circumstances the last couple of days,'' Stevens said. ``I've never seen a turn of events like this.''

Notes: Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Event of the Year ($2.60), Post a Note and Clover Hunter ran 1-2-3 in the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows. . . . Pat Day did win a stakes. Hawksley Hill ($16.80), a 5-year-old Irish-bred gelding making his second U.S. start, won the Arcadia Handicap on turf.

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PHOTO (Color) Malek, trainer Richard Mandella's `other' horse, outfinishes Bagshot in the Santa Anita Handicap.

Benoit Photo/Associated Press