SUMJA EYES GIANT STEP.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with ARCADIA - When he was 23, Brent Sumja stood in the grandstand, about a furlong from the finish line, and with 70,000 other fans watched one of the greatest runnings of 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 , the 1988 race in which Alysheba edged Ferdinand in a battle of Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. winners. Sumja didn't know he was peering into his future. ``When they came down the stretch side by side, you could feel the electricity pass through you. It was an unbelievable feeling,'' Sumja said. Guess we don't have to ask Sumja how he'd feel if he trained a Santa Anita Handicap winner. On Saturday, he'll get his chance, saddling the 4-year-old named Giant Gentleman for the $1 million Big 'Cap, a race that won't feature any Alyshebas or Ferdinands but will have 14 well-matched horses. Sumja has taken a wide trip to get back to the place where his fascination with thoroughbred racing was nurtured. Born in Allentown, Pa., Sumja moved to Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. with his family when he was 5 and attended Beverly Hills High and UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . He went to the races as a kid with his mother and later as a college student with friends, becoming an enthusiastic 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. . But he hadn't given any thought to a career working with horses. ``A friend of mine, who owned horses, took me out to Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Sumja set out to learn the craft. He took a nine-month horse-training course at Louisiana Tech, worked with veterinarians Veterinarians and veterinary surgeons (vets) are medical professionals who operate exclusively on animals. Well-known and notable veterinarians include:
By 1992, he was ready for his own trainer's license and set up shop at the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay tracks. He became one of the leading trainers behind Jerry Hollendorfer in the standings at Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields Golden Gate Fields is a horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the . Worries about the health of the Bay Area racing industry prompted Sumja to spread his business. Now he has 20 horses at Golden Gate, 20 at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and six at Laurel (Md.) Park and Philadelphia Park. ``And one at Santa Anita,'' Sumja said, referring to Giant Gentleman. Sumja was speaking by telephone from New Orleans, where he was to run three horses Thursday before flying here to put the finishing touches on Giant Gentleman. It's unusual for a trainer to be elsewhere in the weeks before his best horse runs in a classic race, but that's how Sumja has approached Giant Gentleman and the Big 'Cap. The horse has lived since December in the barn of trainer Jenine Sahadi, and his workouts and grooming have been handled by Sahadi and her staff. The trainers' mutual respect - Sumja has saddled Sahadi horses up north - makes for a comfortable arrangement in which instructions are passed by phone. Sahadi said Sumja's horse is easy to work with. ``I wouldn't say he's a giant, but he really is a gentleman,'' she said. Giant Gentleman came to Santa Anita after winning four of his first seven starts. He had raced at Golden Gate Fields, Delaware Park, the Meadowlands and Laurel, under four jockeys, and hadn't turned in a bad effort. Giant Gentleman's start in the Malibu Stakes, on Santa Anita's opening day Dec. 26, marked a milestone for Sumja. It was the trainer's first Grade I race. At 12-1 odds, Giant Gentleman finished second in the 7-furlong Malibu, 2 1/2 lengths behind Bobby Frankel-trained Mizzen Mast. Five weeks later, at 10-1, the brown colt finished second in the 1 1/8-mile Strub Stakes, four lengths behind Mizzen Mast. The effort was even better than the result. Giant Gentleman and jockey Alex Solis pressed a fast pace that weakened the rest of the early leaders as Mizzen Mast rallied from sixth to win. With Mizzen Mast out of the Big 'Cap because of a foot injury, with Solis trying to avoid a speed duel this time, and with a comfortable 114- pound assignment, Giant Gentleman can win at 5-1 morning-line odds. Sumja said he never dreamed of running Giant Gentleman in the Big 'Cap. The Florida-bred's pedigree (by Montbrook, out of Exploriano) suggested the 1 1/4-mile race would be too long. But the breeding also indicated the Strub would be too long. ``He keeps going on,'' Sumja said. It's unclear how long the team of Sumja and Giant Gentleman will go on. The colt's original owners, who acquired him for $40,000 in an Ocala, Fla., yearling yearling an animal in its second year of age, e.g. yearling cattle, yearling filly, yearling colt. yearling disease rinderpest in wildebeeste in the Serengheti. sale, sold out last week to London-based Gary Tanaka. Sumja can only hope Tanaka will retain him as the trainer. Winning the Big 'Cap would provide a persuasive argument that he should. ``It's been such a nice run with him,'' Sumja said of the horse. ``I figure I can't lose.'' Imagine the electric feeling if he wins. --The weekend: Three other important stakes share Big 'Cap weekend at Santa Anita. Saturday, the 1-mile San Rafael Stakes The San Rafael Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race is a Grade II event with a purse of $150,000 and is open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile (8 furlongs) on the dirt. for 3-year-olds marks the two-turn debut of Came Home, winner of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, the Hopeful and the San Vicente. The result should determine whether Came Home stays on the Kentucky Derby trail. Also Saturday, the Kilroe Mile on turf brings the return of Breeders' Cup Mile winner Val Royal after four months during which he got sick and missed some training. Sunday, the 7-furlong San Carlos Handicap The San Carlos Handicap is a Grade II stakes race for Thoroughbred horses run at California's Santa Anita Park each year. The race is open to horses, aged four and up, willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and offers a purse of $150,000. finds Snow Ridge going for a hat trick. The D. Wayne Lukas-trained 4-year-old ran the fastest races of the Santa Anita season at 5 1/2 furlongs (1:03.05, winning the El Conejo) and 6 furlongs (1:07.70, winning the Palos Verdes). The time to beat at 7 furlongs is 1:21.29 by Affluent in the La Brea. OUT OF THE GATE SANTA ANITA STANDINGS Through Wednesday Jockey Wins Alex Solis 48 Kent Desormeaux 39 Laffit Pincay 32 Chris McCarron 26 Victor Espinoza 20 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 20 Trainers Wins Bob Baffert 20 Bill Spawr 17 Bobby Frankel 16 Bruce Headley 13 ON THE STAKES SCHEDULE Santa Anita Today --$100,000 La Habra Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 6 1/2 furlongs on turf Saturday --$1 million Santa Anita Handicap, 4-year-olds and up, 1 1/4 miles --$300,000 Kilroe Mile, 4-year-olds and up, 1 mile on turf --$200,000 San Rafael, 3-year-olds, 1 mile Sunday --$150,000 San Carlos Handicap, 4-year-olds and up, 7 furlongs Golden Gate Fields Saturday --$55,000 Sacramento Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 1 mile Gulfstream Park Saturday --$200,000 Rampart Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, 1 1/8 miles Fair Grounds Sunday --$500,000 New Orleans Handicap The New Orleans Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Open to horses four years old and up, the race is run at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. It currently offers a purse of $500,000. , 4-year-olds and up, 1 1/8 miles PINCAY WATCH How many 55-year-olds are asked to model a swimsuit? Laffit Pincay, 55, and his wife, Jeanine, are among the couples featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated magazine. It features top fashion models wearing designer swimwear in exotic locales. New issues come out around the middle of February or later. It was first published in 1964. . Pincay's record career-victories total is up to 9,306. 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. Essence of Dubai, winner of Santa Anita's Norfolk Stakes in September, won the UAE (Uninterruptible Application Error) The name given to a crash in Windows 3.0. In subsequent versions of Windows, a crash was called a "General Protection Fault," "Application Error" or "Illegal Operation." See crash in Windows and abend. 2,000 Guineas on Thursday in Dubai. Essence of Dubai was racing for the first time since he finished 12th in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. . ... Two more rankings of 2001's top thoroughbreds are out. The Daily Racing Form's annual Free Handicap puts 3-year-old Point Given on top, assigning him an imaginary 128 pounds. Next, at 127, are older dirt-track horses Sakhee and Tiznow and turf specialist Fantastic Light. Britain's Timeform has Sakhee on top and a three-way tie for second among Fantastic Light, Galileo and Point Given. ... Seattle Slew's future at stud was up in the air as he was scheduled for an operation this week in Kentucky to treat a spinal-cord problem caused by arthritis. Seattle Slew, 28, is the only living Triple Crown winner. ... Lonesome Glory, the five-time Eclipse Award- winning steeplechase steeplechase Either of two distinct sporting events: (1) a horse race over a closed course with obstacles, including hedges and walls; or (2) a footrace of 3,000 m over hurdles and a water jump. horse and the only millionaire jumper, had to be euthanized at age 14 on Monday after breaking a leg in a paddock accident in Pennsylvania. ... The Pimlico Special won't be held this year, allowing the Maryland Jockey Club to put the $600,000 in purse money toward everyday races, under an agreement reached this week with that state's horsemen. The Special, for older horses, was held from 1937 to 1958 and from 1988 to 2001, and its winners include Seabiscuit, Whirlaway, Citation and Cigar. It is supposed to be reinstated in 2003. ... Jerry Bailey was named to ride Repent in the March 10 Louisiana Derby, replacing Tony D'Amico. Bailey is the perennial leader of U.S. jockeys. D'Amico, 46, has never won a Grade I race. ... Harness writers voted Bunny Lake the Standardbred Standardbred Breed of light horse developed in the U.S., primarily for harness racing. The foundation sire was an English Thoroughbred imported in 1788; his progeny were bred with other breeds, especially the Morgan, to produce speedy trotters and pacers. of the Year for 2001, making her the first 3-year-old filly pacer so honored. ... Yutaka Take, the Japanese jockey who has ridden in California, fractured his pelvis in an accident at Nakayama Racecourse on Sunday and is expected to miss three months. - Kevin Modesti CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: no caption (Laffit Pincay) Box: OUT OF THE GATE (see text) |
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