SEEKING A KINDER JUDGMENT.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI ARCADIA - He won't have the fastest horse or the most cool-headed jockey or - say the weather handicappers - the muddy track he'd prefer. But when he sends out a hardy old gelding gelding castrated male horse. named Truly a Judge to try to win 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 on Saturday, David Bernstein will have an edge that none of the other trainers in California's biggest race of the winter would even wish for. The Big 'Cap owes him one. More than a decade has passed since Bernstein went into the 1994 Santa Anita Handicap with fan favorite The Wicked North and watched from the box seats as the horse drew off to a 1 1/2-length victory over Stuka in the $1 million race that's history is enriched by legends like Seabiscuit, Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 2. and Charlie Whittingham. ``It was the high point of my career,'' says Bernstein, 65 and still an affable panda bear of a man. It was a high that lasted for all of 10 minutes. Within moments of the finish, an ``inquiry'' sign flashed on the tote board tote board n. A large, usually electrically operated board that displays changing numerical information, such as betting payoffs or voting results. and The Wicked North's No. 3 blinked ominously. In a booth six floors above the track, stewards Pete Pedersen, Tom Ward and Ingrid Fermin studied videotape of an incident at the top of the stretch, back where jockey Kent Desormeaux Kent J. Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970, in Maurice, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year. and The Wicked North had taken the lead for good. The officials viewed the replay from every angle until they thought they'd determined why Alex Solis Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964 in Panama City, Panama) is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preakness Stakes with Snow Chief. had snatched up Myrakalu, stood up in the stirrups stirrups The footholds in a lithotomy table and lost momentum. Track announcer Trevor Denman Trevor Denman (24 September 1952 in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa) is an American sportscaster and announcer specializing in Thoroughbred horse racing. A part-time jockey and exercise rider, he started as a race caller in his native South Africa in 1971 at age 18. opened his microphone and began ``Ladies and gentlemen ...'' in the animated tone that tipped off seasoned Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
The Wicked North had been disqualified dis·qual·i·fy tr.v. dis·qual·i·fied, dis·qual·i·fy·ing, dis·qual·i·fies 1. a. To render unqualified or unfit. b. To declare unqualified or ineligible. 2. for interfering with Myrakalu. Stuka had been declared the winner. Owners Phil and Sophie Hersh were out $475,000, the difference between victory and fourth place, The Wicked North's official placing. David Bernstein was out one career-making win. ``I was as shocked as everybody else,'' Bernstein said 11 years after the stewards decided unanimously that The Wicked North had veered to the left ever so slightly and impeded Myrakalu. Phil Hersh instantly vowed to challenge the decision - an appeal that led to a state hearing but no change in the ruling. Desormeaux tore up the jockeys' room in frustration, warning Stuka rider Chris Antley Christopher W. Antley (January 6 1966 - December 2 2000) was a Champion American jockey. He was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida but grew up in Elloree, South Carolina. He left school at sixteen to ride horses professionally at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. not to cash his check. In the winner's circle win·ner's circle n. pl. winners' circles An enclosed area at a racetrack where the winning horse and jockey are brought for awards and publicity. Noun 1. , a member of the Stuka party was struck by a cigarette lighter believed thrown by an angry fan. The stewards were escorted to their cars by track security, the only time Ward remembers such protection being necessary. ``It was the kind of decision you hope never has to happen,'' said Pedersen, whose ``in'' box was peppered with angry mail for weeks. ``The ones you remember are the ones where you have empathy for the people involved.'' That night Pedersen found himself sitting at the next table over from Bernstein at The Derby, the landmark restaurant near Santa Anita. The two groups finished eating at the same time, and Pedersen felt a tap on the shoulder. ``We both had a tough day, didn't we?'' Bernstein said. If the class of the trainer mattered as much as the class of the horse, David Bernstein would have won a dozen Santa Anita Handicaps. A Downey native and Arcadia resident, he seemed to have been born for the winner's circle. He'd collected little toy horses as a boy. A grandfather wrote a Los Angeles Herald-Express column from Agua Caliente under the byline ``Senor Bernie.'' A distant ancestor, he was always told, trained for the king of France Noun 1. King of France - the sovereign ruler of France king, male monarch, Rex - a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom . Success in the industrial-catering business allowed him to become a thoroughbred owner in 1972 and later a trainer. The Wicked North gave Bernstein his first $100,000 win and was voted the 1994 national championship for older horses. But that first $1 million win got away. Bernstein can collect the debt on Saturday when he runs a horse in the Big 'Cap for the first time since The Wicked North. Truly a Judge is a 7-year-old gelding. Bernstein claimed him for $20,000 at Santa Anita in 2001 for owners Gaylord Ailshie of Beaumont, Alan Adelman of Orange and Tom Harris of San Diego. Three months ago a bid for the Big 'Cap would have been laughable, but Truly a Judge's climb through the ranks produced front-running victories in December's Native Diver Handicap and January's San Gabriel and - in the 43rd start of his career - a second to Lundy's Liability in the February's San Antonio. If jockey Martin Pedroza can seize the early lead on Saturday, Trulya Judge can outrun out·run tr.v. out·ran , out·run, out·run·ning, out·runs 1. a. To run faster than. b. To escape from: outrun one's creditors. 2. his 12-1 morning line and upset Rock Hard Ten and Saint Liam. If it rains (the odds were against it Wednesday), Truly a Judge is 2 for 4 on wet tracks. As for the idea he might win because of some cosmic plan to even the score, David Bernstein doesn't buy it. ``I was extremely disappointed to lose a race like that,'' he said at his Santa Anita barn. ``But those things happen in racing. ... I'm just honored to have a horse in the Big `Cap again.'' He adds: ``I'd love to win it and be able to keep it.'' CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Trainer David Berstein examines Truly a Judge, the gelding he hopes will win the Santa Anita Handicap. John McCoy/Staff Photographer Box: SANTA ANITA HANDICAP LINEUP |
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