Horse Racing / Bill Christine : 8 Californians in Arlington Million

In its first four years, the Budweiser-Arlington Million has never lived up to its billing as a genuine international race.

Yes, Tolomeo, an Irish-bred from Italy, caught John Henry when he wasn’t looking in the stretch of the ’83 Million and won by a neck, but history will remember that upset as a fluke. Tolomeo paid $78.40 and never did much after returning home.

Other European starters have had little success in the Million, mainly because they have been the Continent’s second string. The goal for European trainers with class horses is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in early October, and shipping to the United States in late August is always in conflict with that objective.

This year, the fifth running of the Million, which will take place Sunday at fire-ravaged Arlington Park, isn’t even a national race. It ought to be called the California Million, or the Eddie Read Reprise. Eight of the 13 starters are from California, and five of them ran 1-2-3-5-6 (Tsunami Slew-Al Mamoon-Both Ends Burning-Drumalis-Dahar) in the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar two weeks ago.

Fatih, who ran fourth in the Eddie Read, would have given California a ninth representative, but he has been scratched after taking a bad step and being pulled up at the end of a five-furlong workout Wednesday at Del Mar.

The three Californians who didn’t run in the Eddie Read include Greinton, Kings Island and The Noble Player--the rest of the Million field consists of Flying Pidgeon, Gate Dancer and three English runners, Free Guest, Teleprompter and King of Clubs. Flying Pidgeon is a Florida-based colt, and Gate Dancer, who might also qualify as a California horse, is really from the world, just like his trainer, Jack Van Berg.

Free Guest, the only filly in the Million, is given the best chance of winning for the English. The 1-mile distance seems too long for Teleprompter and King of Clubs.

It was announced Wednesday that Steve Cauthen will ride Free Guest. Cauthen, the only jockey to ever win national titles in both the United States and England, is heading for his second straight championship abroad.

Free Guest has been ridden by several jockeys other than Cauthen. Pat Eddery was her jockey when she won the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, England, in her last start on Aug. 3. Before the announcement of Cauthen, Darrel McHargue had been under consideration to ride Sunday. McHargue, when he was riding in England and Ireland last year, won four straight races with the 4-year-old.

Making his fourth appearance in the Million, Cauthen has his best chance to win. His other mounts were Fingal’s Cave, which ran 11th at 36 to 1 in ‘81; Motavato, who was third at 49-1 as an entry in ‘82, and The Noble Player, who ran last as a 36-1 field horse in ’83.

Hilco Scamper keeps winning--the undefeated 2-year-old gelding has won five straight--but his handlers were concerned about his most recent victory in the Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park Aug. 10.

Hilco Scamper took a big early lead and took the six-furlong Sapling by three lengths, but he ran too fast early in the race and slowed to a walk through the stretch, covering the final quarter mile in :26 2/5.

After Hilco Scamper had won the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, also at six furlongs, trainer Mike Chambers thought the Washington-bred was capable of going farther. Since the Sapling, Chambers isn’t so sure.

“The Sapling was of no use whatsoever in telling us what kind of a horse we’ve got,” Chambers said. “His saddle slipped the first jump out of the gate, and then (jockey) Gary (Stevens) couldn’t slow him down. Every time he tried to take hold, the horse just ran faster.”

Hilco Scamper is scheduled to run Sunday at Saratoga in the Hopeful Stakes, which at 6 1/2 furlongs will be the farthest he has been asked to go.

On Tuesday morning at Saratoga, Hilco Scamper was still showing more speed than Chambers cares for. He worked five furlongs in :58 2/5, which is less than a second off the track record.

Hilco Scamper’s owners--three men from Yakima, Wash.--have indicated that they would consider supplementing the gelding into the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Stakes at Aqueduct Nov. 2, but because that race is 1 1/16 miles, Chambers will have to see more races before he makes a recommendation. The supplementary fee, necessary because Hilco Scamper wasn’t nominated for $500, costs $120,000.

“He’d have to put together a few pretty good races between now and then before I’d ask the owners to put up that kind of money,” Chambers said.

The Breeders’ Cup’s seven-race program at Aqueduct is in danger of losing several other prominent horses because of the expensive supplementary fees. Owners of standouts such as Greinton, Mom’s Command and Win have also indicated that they won’t supplement to the Breeders’ Cup.

Mom’s Command is a Horse of the Year candidate, as is Spend a Buck, another Breeders’ Cup doubtful. With Spend a Buck, it’s not the $120,000--owner Dennis Diaz put up that amount last year when Spend a Buck ran third in the Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park--it’s the medication question. Spend a Buck is a bleeder and needs furosemide, a diuretic, to run effectively, but in New York horses aren’t allowed to run on medication.

Creme Fraiche, winner of the Belmont Stakes, is another top 3-year-old that the Breeders’ Cup probably won’t get. Creme Fraiche also wasn’t nominated, and paying the expensive supplementary fee would make little sense since the horse is a gelding and has no breeding value. Creme Fraiche’s owner would be risking $120,000 to win $450,000, with no long-range gains at stud.

For the sake of racing’s limited reputation in television circles, there is pressure on the Breeders’ Cup to come up with a good rating for NBC’s four-hour telecast this year. Last year, the numbers were so-so, the performance written off as a respectable effort because it was the first time the $10-million races were run.

This year, though, racing needs a much better rating, because the Triple Crown telecasts were disappointing. The Kentucky Derby’s 10.9 rating (with each point being the equivalent of about 885,000 homes) was the lowest in the 25 years the race has been measured and a 15% drop from the figure in 1984. The Preakness Stakes did only a 5.6, which was 43% lower than ’84. Only the Belmont Stakes showed an increase, a 5.3 rating that represented a negligible 6% jump.

ABC televises the Derby and Preakness. CBS, which carries the Belmont, reportedly has lost $1 million for the last three years and hasn’t renewed its contract for ’85.

Racing Notes An entrepreneur in England, realizing that many people in racing have bottomless pockets, is peddling a four-seat box for Royal Ascot that includes the use of a Rolls-Royce and hotel accommodations for the four days. The box is located in the royal enclosure, not far from where Queen Elizabeth II watches the races. Already there’s been an offer of $20,000 from an Englishman--that’s just for one year--but the owner of the box figures he may get even more from an American. . . . A New York horse owner called Belmont Park to ask about reserved seats for this year’s Breeders’ Cup at Aqueduct. “We might be able to accommodate you, but first enter the lottery to see if you can come up with four tickets,” he was told. Asking how much the tickets cost, the owner was told, “One-fifty.” Thinking $1.50 meant $150, the owner sent in a check for $600, which theoretically would buy 400 tickets. Aqueduct is not raising its regular-season prices for the Breeders’ Cup. . . . Turkoman and Padua are likely starters in the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs Sept. 21. . . . Kings Island, who upset Greinton in the Sunset Handicap, costing him Hollywood Park’s $1-million bonus, has been supplemented for Sunday’s Million at a cost of $75,000.