Hollywood Turf Cup : Zoffany Makes Room for Himself in the Horse-of-the-Year Balloting

As the field thundered through the stretch in the $500,000 Hollywood Turf Cup Sunday, it looked as though there wouldn’t be enough room for the horse on the rail to get through.

That horse was Zoffany, with Eddie Delahoussaye riding, and afterwards the jockey said:

“It was just a little tight in there. At first I was hesitant to try it. I had enough horse left, but it was tight. But there’s only one way to find out if you can make it, isn’t there? And for that much money, you’ve got to take a shot.”

After Zoffany and Delahoussaye squeezed through, the run to the finish line was a formality. They earned the $275,000 winner’s purse by finishing 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Win, who overtook the front-running Vanlandingham on the outside to take second by a neck.

Zoffany’s win was even more unexpected than his upset victory over Lord at War and Both Ends Burning in the Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park three weeks ago. This was a New Jersey-bred, for goodness sakes, running against a balanced collection of some of the best horses in the country, and this time, before 33,436 fans, he paid $49.20 to win as the ninth betting choice in the field of 13.

All Zoffany’s win does is further scramble the year-end voting for Horse of the Year and divisional titles. Ballots to 200 or so racing secretaries, turf writers and Daily Racing Form experts go out Thursday, and the electorate may hope that the mail doesn’t go through.

Some of the best horses--Estrapade, Precisionist, Twilight Ridge, Family Style, Dontstop Themusic and now Vanlandingham--have lost their final starts of the year, defeats that will stick in voters’ minds. Vanlandingham, who could still win the male handicap title on dirt, has compromised his Horse-of-the-Year and turf chances.

But Don MacBeth, who rode Vanlandingham to victory in the Washington D.C. International at Laurel on Nov. 16, couldn’t fault the 4-year-old colt’s race Sunday.

“I guess we just couldn’t overcome the track bias here, where the horses on the lead never hold up,” MacBeth said. “The winner was just the best horse today. I think he would have won whether he got through or had to go around us.”

On a course that was firm after not being used for a race for two weeks because of rain, MacBeth took Vanlandingham to the front, and they were going so slowly at the beginning of the 1 1/2-mile race that Richard Migliore, aboard Win, had his horse closer than usual.

Tsunami Slew raced behind them and, after three-quarters of a mile, Yashgan, the lukewarm favorite at 3-1, moved into fourth. Delahoussaye and Zoffany stayed on the rail in fifth place. They moved into third on the turn for home as Win began to close the gap behind Vanlandingham.

It wasn’t until Zoffany came through on the rail that Vanlandingham came out from the fence. “I would have had to put him (Zoffany) over the fence to keep him out of there,” MacBeth said.

Migliore wished he had passed Vanlandingham with Win a little sooner. “Maybe then I would have been able to hold Zoffany in,” the jockey said. “The winner had a dream trip.”

The betting indicated that the public was thoroughly confused by the race. “Look at that,” said Eddie Gregson, Tsunami Slew’s trainer. “The Horse of the Year is 10-1.”

He was talking about Vanlandingham, who finally went off at 8-1. Yashgan, who lost to Vanlandingham in the D.C. International, was still favored Sunday. Mourjane, with only one American win to his credit, was priced at only 4-1.

Zoffany, timed in 2:28 2/5, paid $22.80 to place and $15.80 to show. Win’s prices were $14.40 and $12.60. Vanlandingham returned $9.20 to show.

John Gosden, a Cambridge man, trains the 5-year-old Zoffany for three English men--Anthony Speelman, a London art dealer, and Anthony and John Bodie, who are in real estate. The owners’ English trainer, Guy Harwood, purchased Zoffany as a yearling for $80,000 in Kentucky and Zoffany raced sparingly in England until coming to the United States last year. Speelman named the horse after Johann Zoffany, an 18th-Century artist who’s one of his favorites.

Zoffany, who ran in the Citation because a delayed blood test prevented him from competing in the Japan Cup, has won 6 of 11 starts this year, including 5 of his last 6.

“The horse doesn’t like the inside, but we were in the right spot today, weren’t we?” Gosden said. “Actually, the way the race was run (with such slow early fractions), any horse who was far back early didn’t have much of a chance.”

Asked for an opinion on the male grass championship, Gosden said the honor might go to Cozzene, who won the Breeders’ Cup Mile Stakes on grass, but who also has two earlier turf wins this year.

“Cozzene beat us (Zoffany), at Monmouth Park, so that puts him in a pretty good spot,” Gosden said.

But Win beat Cozzene in the Bernard Baruch Handicap at Saratoga in August. And if they ran the Turf Cup over, more than half the field would be capable of winning it. The voters will be better off if the ballots never reach their doors.

Horse Racing Notes

Not only did owner John Ed Anthony not win with Vanlandingham, but his Steepbank was disqualified to sixth place for stretch interference after running first in the race after the Hollywood Turf Cup. Steepbank’s disqualification also cost Eddie Delahoussaye his third win of the day and gave Chris McCarron his third win Sunday and eighth in two days. McCarron and Super Dupont ran second and were moved up on the foul. . . . John Gosden saddled Baroness Direct, winner of the fifth race. Gosden also won the Turf Cup last year with Alphabatim. . . . Mitterand, a multiple stakes winner, finished second in her first out since July. . . . Dontstop Themusic, third as the odds-on favorite Saturday in the Silver Belles Handicap, will race again next year. . . . Vanlandingham also will stay on the track next year, continuing to be trained by Shug McGaughey. Although McGaughey is going to be the stable trainer for the Ogden Phipps family, his understanding is that he will be able to keep Vanlandingham. . . . Earl’s Valentine, a promising 2-year-old filly, will be sidelined for about two months with a fractured knee. . . . The Bates Motel, another stake on Sunday’s card, was won by favored Beldale Lear.