San Bernardino Handicap : It’s Party Time as Judge Angelucci Wins

Nobody loves a party more than Tom Gentry. His soirees at his Kentucky farm, just before Keeneland’s big yearling sale in July, are legend.

Wolfgang Puck has prepared the food. Bob Hope has told the jokes. Burt Bacharach has sung the songs. Then Gentry gives away 50-cent ballpoint pens to millionaires such as Nelson Bunker Hunt and everybody goes home happy.

More a commercial breeder than a man who races his horses, Gentry has had an impact on the track just the same.

In 1983, he ran Flag Admiral in the Preakness and took along Jimmy Carter as a partner. Flag Admiral finished a not-unexpected 10th, but people still paid attention because the colt had an ex-president as an owner.

This year, people back in Kentucky were saying that the party was over for Tom Gentry. He had what he calls “an untimely divorce.” Then the breeding business turned sour and the banks that had loaned Gentry money got nervous and started asking for large sums.

Gentry wasn’t cowed by any of this. He recently rented out The Bistro and threw a large birthday party.

There was another party in Kentucky Saturday night, after Gentry’s 3-year-old, War, won the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland and catapulted himself into the Kentucky Derby picture.

Gentry tore himself away from that wing-ding to hurry to Santa Anita Sunday.

Sunday night called for still one more party, because another Gentry-bred horse, Judge Angelucci, was ridden by Bill Shoemaker to a 3/4-length win over Iron Eyes before 45,600 fans in the $219,400 San Bernardino Handicap. The new ballpoints, with the names of War and Judge Angelucci imprinted, are probably already on the assembly line.

Judge Angelucci is named after Armand Angelucci, the Kentucky circuit-court judge who saw the horse win Sunday. “I named War after what’s happened to me the last few years,” Gentry said. “My life’s been a war.”

Gentry takes no small pride in the fact that both War and Judge Angelucci are out of Victorian Queen, the 16-year-old Victoria Park mare who produced War after a mating with Majestic Light and foaled Judge Angelucci a year later after being bred to Honest Pleasure. Victorian Queen is now in foal to Majestic Light again, which means the offspring will be either a full brother or full sister to War.

“I wonder if it’s ever happened before that the same mare has winners of two big races back to back like this mare’s had?” Gentry asked.

About eight years ago, Gentry bought Victorian Queen when she was in foal to Secretariat. He paid $310,000 for her, then got his money back when he sold the foal.

On Sunday, Judge Angelucci earned $129,000, running 1 1/8 miles in 1:48 2/5 after Shoemaker had him just galloping in the early stages of the race.

Iron Eyes held second by 1 lengths over Grecian Wonder, the first three finishers being horses who had never won a stake. Hopeful Word, the 7-5 favorite and a slight favorite over the Charlie Whittingham-trained entry of Judge Angelucci and Bruiser, stayed close to the lead early, then seemed to lose interest and finished seventh in the eight-horse field.

Judge Angelucci paid $5, $3 and $2.60. The other payoffs were $5.20 and $4.20 for Iron Eyes and $4.40 for Grecian Wonder.

Although Iron Eyes got to within a head of Judge Angelucci in mid-stretch, the roan gelding’s owner and trainer, Carolyn Charles, didn’t think he was going to win.

“With a sixteenth of a mile to go, we had some horse left, but so did they (Shoemaker and Whittingham),” Charles said. “It’s tough trying to outrun the two masters.”

Shoemaker, winning his 971st stakes race, is 55, and Whittingham turns 74 today. Whittingham is Judge Angelucci’s third trainer and they are undefeated together, the horse having won two allowance races at Santa Anita before Sunday.

Before going to Whittingham’s barn, Judge Angelucci ran only five races, being bothered by a series of minor ailments, such as sore shins and bruised feet.

“The thing about Charlie is that when you send a horse with some ability to him, he keeps them sound,” Gentry said.

Jack Kaenel, riding Iron Eyes, hoped that someone would challenge Judge Angelucci on his easy lead, but there were no takers.

“If I had tried it, I would have killed us both off,” Kaenel said.

Judge Angelucci won only $43,465 before Sunday, a maiden win in Kentucky last September being the only victory of his career before Whittingham took over.

Whittingham won the San Bernardino for the ninth time and Shoemaker has been first in the stake six times. Together, they’ve won eight stakes at the meeting.

Gentry was asked what was next for Judge Angelucci.

“With the senor (Whittingham), you don’t have to do much planning,” he said.

In other words, Whittingham can run the horse wherever he wants. Gentry’s only responsible for the post-race party.

Horse Racing Notes

Temperate Sil, winner of the Santa Anita Derby, will be flown to Kentucky today, where his next start will be in the Kentucky Derby on May 2. . . . Trainer John Gosden said there’s only a 50-50 chance that Zoffany will run in the $400,000 San Juan Capistrano next Sunday. Gosden fears that the horse hasn’t had enough time since he won the San Luis Rey Stakes on March 29. If Zoffany doesn’t run, he will be retired to stud and stand in Australia. . . . Manila, winner of the last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Stakes at Santa Anita and then voted champion male turf horse, will make his first appearance this year on Tuesday, running in the Elkhorn at Keeneland. Because of the allowance conditions of the race, Manila will have to carry only 112 pounds. . . . Jockey Jack Kaenel said that Zany Tactics bled in finishing fourth Saturday in the Bold Ruler Handicap at Aqueduct. . . . Polly’s Ruler, winner of five races this season at Santa Anita, ran fourth and was disqualified to sixth in Sunday’s first race. The 8-year-old gelding was claimed for the fourth time this year, trainer Jim Hilling taking him for $16,000. . . . Alex Solis took off the rest of his mounts Sunday after injuring a foot in the gate at the start of the third race.