Horse Racing : Turkoman, Precisionist Are Odds-Off Favorites

The interesting aspects about the $3-million Classic--the richest stake on Saturday’s $10-million, seven-race Breeders’ Cup card at Santa Anita--are that the favorite, Turkoman, has never won a race at the track and the second choice, Precisionist, seldom wins at the 1-mile distance.

Maybe, though, Turkoman and Precisionist are good enough to win, anyhow. Turkoman is 8-5 on the morning line, and Precisionist is 2-1, and after that the odds jump to 8-1 on Alphabatim, who has won only one race in two years and who was fourth, beaten by eight lengths, two weeks ago at Bay Meadows.

Dick Mandella, who trains Hopeful Word, another starter in the Classic’s 11-horse field, had speculated before entry time Wednesday that his 5 year old would be rated behind Turkoman and Precisionist. Mandella has to be surprised that Hopeful Word is listed at 15-1, even though he was the horse who finished far ahead of Alphabatim at Bay Meadows.

Turkoman, who has won four-of-seven starts this year and was second, beaten by a combined margin of less than a length, in two of the other races, will be running at Santa Anita for the first time since early in his 3-year-old season in 1985.

After winning his first career start at Hollywood Park in December of 1984, Turkoman ran second, 2 1/2 lengths behind Skywalker, in an allowance race in January of 1985. Three months later, Skywalker won the Santa Anita Derby. He’ll be one of the 11 starters in the Classic.

Two weeks after losing to Skywalker, Turkoman was a 1-2 favorite and ran third, beaten by 1 1/2 lengths, in another allowance race. In early March, Turkoman went off the 7-5 favorite in a Santa Anita allowance and was third again, three lengths behind the winner.

Daily Racing Form comments on Turkoman’s last two Santa Anita starts say that he “lugged in” and “drifted out.” Ever since, Gary Jones, who trains Turkoman, has run the horse at other California tracks and in the East.

“The deeper, cuppy tracks that you find in the East were more to his liking,” Jones said. “Also, Santa Anita seemed to sting his feet.”

Like his sire, Alydar, Turkoman has had career-long difficulty shifting his weight from one lead foot to another as he runs. Nevertheless, he’s earned $1.4 million, and this year has won the Widener Handicap at Hialeah and the Marlboro Cup at Belmont Park. Turkoman obliterated Hialeah’s track record for 1 miles in the Widener, running the distance in 1:58 3/5.

Jones, who has been critical of Santa Anita’s racing strip in the past, has worked Turkoman only twice at the Breeders’ Cup track since his return to the West Coast after a second-place finish to Creme Fraiche in the 1 1/2-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. The race before that, Turkoman beat Precisionist by 1 1/2 lengths in the 1-mile Marlboro Cup.

Turkoman’s last two workouts for the Breeders’ Cup were at Hollywood Park, where he won the Affirmed Handicap late last year. Turkoman was timed in :59 4/5 for five furlongs, and then last Sunday he went an additional eighth of a mile in 1:10 3/5. He has been galloping at Santa Anita this week.

“I just didn’t want to take any chances working him at Santa Anita,” Jones said. “There were too many Phone Tricks, Delicate Vines, Encolures and Garthorns there lately for my liking.”

Jones was referring to prominent horses that either broke down or were injured at Santa Anita in recent weeks. Encolure had to be destroyed after he broke down in a five-horse spill on Oct. 16.

It has been pointed out that Turkoman’s poor races at Santa Anita came when he was a young, inexperienced horse, a colt who might have been troubled by almost any track.

Sandy Hawley rode Turkoman in his first four races. With Chris McCarron injured--he went down with Variety Road in the Encolure race--Pat Day will ride Turkoman for the first time Saturday.

“Turkoman acted like a big clown in those three Santa Anita races,” Hawley said. “He was a different horse in the race at Hollywood Park.

“If he had his head on, he would have beaten Skywalker that one day. Those rides were very frustrating. He would run up to other horses, and even though I knew I had a ton of horse left, he wouldn’t run by ‘em. He would lay on other horses.

“I tried everything. I tried placing him in the middle of the track. I tried switching my stick to the left hand. I guess he behaves better now than he used to, but he still had serious problems at Santa Anita.”

As for Precisionist, he hasn’t won at the Classic distance of 1 miles since he captured the Strub Stakes at Santa Anita in February of 1985. Since then, at 1 miles, Precisionist has been second in the Hollywood Gold Cup; sixth in the Santa Anita Handicap; third in this year’s Hollywood Gold Cup and second in the Marlboro.

Lifetime, Precisionist has eight starts at 1 miles with three victories, three seconds and one third.

Still, Jones thinks Precisionist will be favored by the public Saturday, because 8 of his 15 stakes wins have come at Santa Anita.

“We’re not a California horse anymore,” Jones said. “And Precisionist is.”

Turkoman isn’t even a Santa Anita horse. His own trainer admits that.

Horse Racing Notes

Although Groovy, the 3-5 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, drew the outside post in the nine-horse field, it shouldn’t be a disadvantage because of his blazing speed. . . . In the Breeders’ Cup Mile, however, the outside is a distinct disadvantage, and Thrill Show is No. 14 in the 14-horse field. The entry of Thrill Show and Palace Music is the 3-1 favorite. . . . Other Breeders’ Cup favorites are Capote in the Juvenile, Sacahuista in the Juvenile Fillies, the entry of Lady’s Secret and Twilight Ridge in the Distaff and Dancing Brave in the Turf.. . . Jorge Velasquez and Walter Guerra, the only jockeys to win two Breeders’ Cup races, don’t have any mounts this year. Guerra’s main hope, Ogygian, is sidelined with an injury and Velasquez left New York to ride in Europe late this year. . . . Trainer Wayne Lukas has seven starters in this year’s Breeders’ Cup--Lady’s Secret, Twilight Ridge, Capote, Pledge Card, Anything for Love, Sacahuista and Pine Tree Lane. . . . In the first two years, Lukas runners have earned more than $2 million, with 2 wins, 4 seconds and 1 third in 15 starts. . . . Channel 56 will devote an hour to the Breeders’ Cup tonight, plus 1 1/2 hours Friday night. Both programs begin at 8.