Lava Man returns after stem-cell treatment on his ankles

There was a little bit of science fiction on display at Santa Anita on Sunday, as Lava Man made a return to the races 17 months after his supposed retirement following stem-cell treatment on his ankles.

FOR THE RECORD:
Horse-racing odds: An article on the San Gabriel Handicap at Santa Anita in Monday’s Sports section said that Proudinsky won the race by a neck over 6-5 favorite Loup Breton. The odds on Loup Breton were 7-5. —

The 8-year-old gelding took the lead under jockey Tyler Baze from the start in the $150,000 San Gabriel Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the turf. He led the field of seven into the stretch but faded to last at the finish, with Proudinsky winning by a neck over 6-5 favorite Loup Breton. Acclamation was third.

Lava Man, with career earnings of $5,268,706, had not raced since finishing last in the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar in July 2008 and had not won since June 2007 in taking the Hollywood Gold Cup for the third straight year.

His owners decided to bring him back to the races after he received stem-cell procedures from the Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Los Olivos to regenerate cartilage in his surgically repaired ankles.

However, Lava Man’s performance was a disappointment to trainer Doug O’Neill, who indicated afterward it might be time for Lava Man to retire.

“I was very eager to see him run because he had been training like the Lava Man of old,” O’Neill said. “He definitely disappointed me in his results, but he really made me happy, the fact that he got back here. I thought he looked great striding out.”

Lava Man had a gash on his hind right tibia that might have been sustained hitting the starting gate.

“He just got tired,” O’Neill said. “That’s what Tyler commented on. I thought I had him more fit than that, but it’s hard to simulate a mile and an eighth turf race in the mornings. When he asked him to kick on, he said he gave him something, but he just couldn’t sustain it.”

Proudinsky won the San Gabriel for the second consecutive year. Trained by Humberto Ascanio and ridden by Rafael Bejarano, he covered the distance in 1:46.91.

In the earlier $100,000 California Breeders Champion Stakes, Evening Jewel, under jockey Victor Espinoza, won by three quarters of a length over Warren’s Jitterbug in the 1 1/16 -mile race for 2-year-old fillies.

There will be a special eight-race card today at Santa Anita.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com