Racing at Santa Anita : Pine Tree Lane Wins Santa Monica

L. Don Mathis, a prominent Oklahoma City furniture dealer, was introduced to Wayne Lukas by Mel Hatley. Lukas had trained quarter horses for Hatley, another Oklahoman, and Life’s Magic, their thoroughbred filly, won Eclipse Awards in 1984 and 1985.

Mathis, who has raced cheap horses at small tracks in the Southwest, wanted to try the big leagues. To get him started, Lukas reached into one pocket to fill another, and one of his selections was Pine Tree Lane, whom Lukas was training for another owner, Ted Sabarese.

Sabarese, hoping to divest himself of his older horses, sent the 4-year-old Pine Tree Lane to the auction ring last August at Saratoga. Lukas, acting on behalf of Mathis, stopped at $175,000 on Pine Tree Lane, but the successful bidder still didn’t match the filly’s pre-sale reserve price of $200,000, so the ownership stayed with Sabarese.

The next morning, Lukas went to Sabarese and asked what he wanted for Pine Tree Lane, who had been originally bought by Sabarese as a yearling for $22,000. Had Sabarese been able to sell her the night before at Saratoga, he still would have had to pay a 5% auctioneer’s commission, so Lukas and Mathis were able to obtain the horse for $195,000.

Pine Tree was undefeated in five starts in 1985 and she was winning races at the time Mathis bought her, but all she was beating was allowance opposition in Nebraska.

Soon after the sale, Pine Tree Lane was moved into stakes company, something she hadn’t been able to handle at the start of the year. Now, however, Pine Tree Lane is expected to win stakes races, and Saturday, for the third time in as many months, she met those expectations, holding off Balladry through Santa Anita’s stretch to take the $97,560 Santa Monica Handicap by a half-length before 34,231 chilled fans.

That was the same margin by which Pine Tree Lane beat Rangoon Ruby in the Las Flores Handicap at Santa Anita on New Year’s day. On Saturday, Rangoon Ruby, who was second choice in the betting to the 4-5 Pine Tree Lane, lagged early and finished last in the six-horse field.

Pine Tree Lane, ridden by Angel Cordero, carried 125 pounds, which was 4 to 11 pounds more than any of the other horses, and ran seven furlongs in 1:21 4/5, which was 1 1/5 seconds slower than Past Forgetting’s 1982 stakes record.

After the 19-1 Balladry, who was the biggest price on the board after winning only one race all last year, it was a length farther back to Her Royalty. Pine Tree Lane, earning $58,140, paid $4.20, $3.40 and $2.60. The other mutuels were $8.60 and $4 for Balladry and $3 for Her Royalty.

Pine Tree Lane’s only defeats in her last eight starts came when she was matched against males. She finished second to Smile, who earned the national sprint title by winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 1, and she was third in a stake that Hollywood Park bills as the National Sprint Championship on Nov. 28.

Cordero’s patented vault from a horse’s back in the winner’s circle might have been higher than usual Saturday, because the day also marked the first birthday of the jockey’s daughter, Julie, who is back in Florida with her mother, Marjorie, a former rider who is now a trainer.

Talking about Pine Tree Lane’s virtual wire-to-wire performance, Cordero said: “She’s learning to rate more. She’s getting older and better. I was concerned about the extra furlong and the weight, but she handled it.”

Balladry and Her Royalty, who won the Santa Monica a year ago, stayed close to Pine Tree Lane in the early going but couldn’t wear down the winner in the stretch.

“I tried to stalk Pine Tree Lane, hoping she would stop,” said Pat Valenzuela, Balladry’s jockey. “But she didn’t, did she?”

Cordero, though based in Florida, has ridden 8 winners out of 62 mounts at Santa Anita. The 44-year-old rider, who missed four months of action last year after suffering a lacerated liver and a broken leg in a spill at Aqueduct, rides Broad Brush in today’s $150,000 San Fernando Stakes, then has the assignment on Felliniana in Monday’s $100,000 San Gorgonio Handicap.

Cordero will spend most of the winter in Florida, where his wife is training Sunny Leader, a 3-year-old colt with potential. But certain horses will bring Cordero back this way. Put Pine Tree Lane’s name is at the top of that list.

Horse Racing Notes

Wayne Lukas doesn’t have his speech ready yet, but he’s making plans to be in New York later this month, when Lady’s Secret is expected to be named Horse of the Year for 1986. . . . Preparing for today’s San Fernando, Ferdinand blew out three furlongs in :36 2/5 Saturday morning, and Broad Brush was clocked in :35 1/5. . . . Monday’s San Gorgonio has Auspiciante, the top weight at 122 pounds, on the rail, and outside her in order are Reloy, Frau Altiva, Solva, New Bruce, Outstandingly and Felliniana. Outstandingly is second in the weights with 120 pounds. . . . Bedside Promise, who won the National Sprint Championship over Pine Tree Lane, took Saturday’s $100,000 Kyne Handicap at Bay Meadows by six lengths over Hopeful Word. Bedside Promise, ridden by Gary Stevens, ran the mile in stakes-record time of 1:34 4/5.