PROTECTION, TRACTION DON'T MIX; WILL MEGAN'S INTERCO SPIN HIS WHEELS?Byline: KEVIN MODESTI It must be the shoes: That could be trainer Jenine Sahadi's excuse on Saturday if tough old Megan's Interco fails to become the first four-time winner in the history of the California Cup races. Sahadi had hoped her sore-footed gelding gelding castrated male horse. , the favorite in the $175,000 Cal Cup Mile, would be allowed to race in protective hind shoes with 3/16th-inch ``toe grabs'' - cleats - for extra traction. But the toe grabs were ruled to be in violation of rules meant to prevent churning hooves from chewing up Santa Anita's year-old turf course. Those rules require flat shoes or protrusions of no more than about 1/16th of an inch for horses racing on the grass. So Sahadi's horseshoer will grind down the toe grabs, leaving intact the protective parts of the shoes, which have bars connecting the back ends to prevent the hooves from spreading on contact. ``It's the lesser of two evils,'' horseshoer Wesley Champagne said at Sahadi's barn Thursday afternoon. ``We might lose a length in traction, but it's better than losing five lengths to soreness.'' Megan's Interco has quarter cracks in both hind feet, and hasn't raced since he won the Cal Cup Classic on the dirt track last November. He won the Cal Cup Mile in 1993 and '95. At age 8, he will be racing for only the 30th time but going for his 15th victory, which would put his career earnings over $1 million for breeder-owner Milton Bronson. ``It's been difficult (training him for the latest comeback), because he's been plagued by foot problems,'' Sahadi said after Megan's Interco and jockey Corey Nakatani ''' Corey S. Nakatani (born October 21, 1970 in Covina, California, United States) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. As of 2006, Nakatani has won more than 3000 races including the Kentucky Oaks twice, the Canadian International Stakes, the Dubai Golden drew post 6 in a 10-horse field that includes the consistent Gastown. ``But that's the story of this horse's life.'' Sahadi said she worries that without toe grabs, Megan's Interco will slip and slide on the turf, though the problem should be the same for everybody. Trainers have blamed the shoe restrictions for recent injuries, which include the suspensory ligament suspensory ligament n. A ligament that supports an organ or body part, especially a fibrous membrane that holds the lens of the eye in place. injury that has knocked Sahadi's Rainbow Dancer out of the Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. The race's current title sponsor is John Deere. . ``Horses get hurt more easily wearing flat shoes,'' trainer Ron McAnally Ronald L. McAnally (born July 11, 1932, in Covington, Kentucky) is an American Hall of Fame trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. Called "one of the most honored and respected of North American trainers" by Thoroughbred Times Co. said early in the Oak Tree season. ``They can't get ahold of (the track).'' Said Sahadi: ``It's like running in Keds as opposed to running in track shoes.'' Trainers have said the flat shoes cause front-runners to ``spin their wheels.'' But Oak Tree racing director Tom Robbins said the slow times and the increase in come-from-behind winners has more to do with changes in maintenance procedures on the turf course that was renovated in the summer of '96. Add Cal Cup: The $250,000 Cal Cup Classic came up weak, so the spotlight at Saturday's nine-race card for California-bred horses will fall on popular old-timers Megan's Interco and Letthebighossroll. The 9-year-old Big Hoss, the '91 Cal Cup Sprint winner, drew the outside in a 10-horse field for the 6-furlong race. Chris McCarron Christopher John "Chris" McCarron (b. March 27 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame retired jockey. He was introduced to the sport of thoroughbred racing by his older brother, jockey Gregg McCarron. will ride for dominant Cal Cup trainer Bob Baffert Bob Baffert (born January 13, 1953 in Nogales, Arizona) is an American horse owner and trainer. He graduated from the University of Arizona's Racetrack Management Program with a Bachelor of Science degree. . Two entrants in the $100,000 Cal Cup Juvenile Fillies will be trying to earn trips to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part : Career Collection and Griselle. Cal-breds are 0 for 35 in the Breeders' Cup. Sneak preview: Hollywood Park this week put out the first official list of horses expected to run in the seven Breeders' Cup races Nov. 8. Notable: Only six horses are on the list for the Classic: favorites Gentlemen and Touch Gold, as well as Behrens, Deputy Commander, Formal Gold and Wisky Wisdom. Four others are given an ``outside chance'' at starting: Skip Away, whose owners would have to pay $800,000 to make him eligible; Honor Glide (more likely to try the Mile), Singspiel Singspiel: see opera. singspiel (German; “song-play”) Eighteenth-century opera in the German language, containing spoken dialogue and usually comic in tone. (Turf) and Spinning World (Mile). Only the Mile would exceed the 14-horse limit if entries were taken now. Sixteen are listed, half of them trained in Southern California. The race with the heaviest local flavor is the Sprint, with nine SoCal horses on the list. The opposite is the Turf, with McAnally-trained Rajpoute the only hometown representative. Baffert 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. dominate the fields for the 2-year-old races. Baffert trains Souvenir Copy, Johnbill and Pleasant Drive for the Juvenile, and Vivid Angel, Eastside Westside and Marie J for the Juvenile Fillies. Lukas trains Grand Slam, Double Honor and Time Limit for the Juvenile, and Love Lock and Well Chosen for the Juvenile Fillies. Four fillies and mares aim to challenge males in the Sprint: Advancing Star, Exotic Wood, Pas de Response and Track Gal. At last count, the European contingent will number less than half of the 17 who raced at Santa Anita in 1993, the last time the Breeders' Cup was held here. But two Europeans would be favored if betting started today: Singspiel in the Turf and Spinning World in the Mile. Other favorites: Favorite Trick, Grand Slam and Souvenir Copy in the Juvenile; Hidden Lake, Sharp Cat and Twice the Vice in the Distaff; Richter Scale in the Sprint; and Countess Diana in the Juvenile Fillies. Pre-entry fees must be paid Monday. Fields will be finalized Nov. 5. 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. Oak Tree standings: Jockeys (through Wednesday): Kent Desormeaux, 15 winners; Eddie Delahoussaye, 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 and Gary Stevens, 13; Alex Solis, 12. Trainers: Bob Baffert, 15; Mike Mitchell, 8; Jack Carava, 5. Handicapper hand·i·cap·per n. Sports & Games 1. One who assigns handicaps. 2. One who predicts the winners in a horserace, especially one who publishes such predictions as a guide for bettors. Noun 1. helper: Whose horses were the best bets in the first three weeks of the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita? Jockeys Desormeaux (showing a 17 percent profit on win wagers), Flores (7 percent) and J.G. Matos (6 percent), and trainers Marty Jones (388 percent), Baffert (48 percent), Carava (32 percent and Hector Palma Palma or Palma de Mallorca (päl`mä thā mälyôr`kä), city (1990 pop. 325,120), capital of Majorca island and of Baleares prov., Spain, on the Bay of Palma. (25 percent). Upcoming: At Santa Anita: nine California Cup races, Saturday; $100,000 Morvich Handicap, Sunday; $250,000 Oak Tre Derby and $125,000 Carleton F. Burke Handicap, Nov. 1; $500,000 Yellow Ribbon, Nov. 2; Hollywood Park opens Nov. 5; Breeders' Cup, Nov. 8. Mileposts: Former Hollywood Park chief Marje Everett remained at UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. It is rated as one of the top three hospitals in the United States and is the top hospital on the West Coast according to US News & World Report. two weeks after a heart attack. . . . European stars Benny the Dip Benny the Dip (1994-2004) was an American-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse, winner of the Epsom Derby in 1997 by a short head from the future St Leger winner Silver Patriarch. References Benny the Dip's pedigree and racing stats , the Epsom Derby winner, and Helissio, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat race for three-year-old and above thoroughbred horses (excluding geldings). It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately 1 mile 4 furlongs) raced on turf at Longchamp Racecourse, Paris, France on the first Sunday in winner, were retired to stud. . . . The Turf Publicists Association announced plans to honor veteran California racing executive Bob Benoit during Breeders' Cup week. . . . The lone perfect Santa Anita pick-six ticket Wednesday paid $515,315. . . . Trainer Marty Wolfson was suspended for 15 days and fined $1,000 in Florida following investigation of a positive urine test for Acepromazine in a 1996 winner. Wolfson is the son of Affirmed's owners. . . . Marlin, retired after being injured in the Oak Tree Turf Championship, will stand at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky. . . . Three-year-old Confide set a Belmont Park record for 6-1/2 furlongs, 1:14 3/5. . . . Aqueduct opened Wednesday and races through Dec. 31. CAPTION(S): Box Box: A WEEK AT THE RACES (see text) |
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