Weekend Racing at Hollywood Park : Pincay, Dontstop Themusic Ready for Milady

Early Friday morning, Arnold Winick was on the telephone, talking to Laffit Pincay at the jockey’s home.

Winick, who bred Dontstop Themusic and helps manage the 6-year-old mare for owner Albert (Cubby) Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond films, called Pincay to see if he would be able to ride the horse in today’s $100,000 Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park. Pincay suffered a sprained ankle in a spill on Thursday.

“I’ve got somebody in reserve (Darrel McHargue), but I’m hoping you’ll be back to ride Saturday,” Winick said to Pincay.

After listening to Pincay for a few moments, Winick said: “Come out Saturday just to ride the stake, if nothing else. We’ll find a nice pony to take you to the (starting) gate. All you’ll have to do is get on the mare.”

As it turned out, Pincay didn’t even miss Friday’s action. As hot as he is, a sore ankle wasn’t going to keep him away. Pincay rode two winners out of three mounts, which came after his three winners before the spill Thursday and his sweep of last weekend’s two stakes races.

Besides wanting to retain a hot jockey, Winick had another reason early Friday to be extremely interested in Pincay’s availability today.

“I think that the last seven times Laffit’s ridden for us, he won six races,” Winick said. One of those winners was part of Pincay’s triple on Thursday and came for Randy Winick, Arnold’s son, who also trains Dontstop Themusic.

It took awhile this season for Pincay and Dontstop Themusic to get going. She finished second behind Life’s Magic last year in the Eclipse Awards voting for older filly or mare. Dontstop Themusic ran fifth and third in her first two 1986 starts, at Santa Anita, then won the Hawthorne Handicap at Hollywood in her last race, on May 31.

Fran’s Valentine, who finished third in the voting last year for best 3-year-old filly, was third, two lengths behind Dontstop Themusic, in the Hawthorne and is running in the Milady. Also in the eight-horse field is Outstandingly, champion 2-year-old filly in 1984 and a double stakes winner this season at Hollywood.

Dontstop Themusic carries 122 pounds, up one from the Hawthorne and one more than Fran’s Valentine and two more than Outstandingly in the Milady.

Dontstop Themusic, a daughter of Stop the Music and Yellow Serenade, a Graustark mare, has won eight stakes, six in the last two years, and earned $848,000, even though her gate behavior has been erratic. In the Hawthorne, Randy Winick had her loaded into the gate last and had an assistant starter with her in the stall to make sure she broke properly.

Last October, Dontstop Themusic broke slowly in the Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, but still beat Life’s Magic by 2 1/2 lengths. Broccoli then paid a supplementary fee of $120,000 to enable Dontstop Themusic to run in the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Aqueduct in November, because it looked like the stake would decide the divisional championship.

At Aqueduct, Dontstop Themusic had gate trouble that wasn’t of her own doing. She was squeezed leaving the gate, was far back early as a result and despite a mild rally could do no better than third, 9 lengths behind the victorious Life’s Magic.

“If she had had a better start, who knows how she would have run?” Arnold Winick said. “Life’s Magic was a good filly and would have been tough to beat under any circumstances.”

The long-range plan is for another Breeders’ Cup appearance by Dontstop Themusic, the rich series being held this year on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita. It would cost Broccoli another $120,000 to run, because his mare wasn’t originally nominated.

“She’s as good as she can be right now,” Arnold Winick said. Broccoli, now in London working on the next Bond adventure, will spring for the big bucks if she’s in the same shape in November.

Horse Racing Notes

Laffit Pincay has won the last two runnings of the Milady, both with Adored. . . . Last year, Mitterand, trained by Randy Winick, finished third. . . . Mitterand, a multiple stakes winner, was retired after last year and is in foal to Mr. Prospector. . . . Estrapade, top-weighted at 122 pounds for Sunday’s $100,000 Beverly Hills Handicap, will have a new jockey, Fernando Toro replacing Bill Shoemaker. Shoemaker won two stakes with Estrapade at Oak Tree last year but rode the 6-year-old mare three times without success this year. In the Wilshire Handicap on May 25, Estrapade was a 3-5 favorite and finished third, less than a half-length behind Outstandingly and La Koumia. Toro, who won with Estrapade early last year, has been typically tough on the turf this season, five of his six stakes wins coming on grass. In the Beverly Hills, which is 1 miles on grass, the lineup includes Frau Altiva, Sythe, Estrapade, Sauna, La Koumia, Treizieme and Coy Dancer. Frau Altiva, also entered in the Milady today, is scheduled to be ridden by Shoemaker in the Beverly Hills. Estrapade and Sauna will run as an entry, and Treizieme and Coy Dancer are also coupled in the betting. Toro has won the Beverly Hills four times, including back-to-back victories with Absentia and Royal Heroine in 1983-84. . . . John Henry will breeze for the first time next week, probably on Tuesday, as the 11-year-old gelding continues with his comeback. “He’s been acting good, he’s been strong galloping and there have been no problems,” trainer Ron McAnally said. . . . Snow Chief, preparing for next Saturday’s Silver Screen Handicap, worked five furlongs in 1:00 1/5 Friday.