Weekend Racing at Hollywood Park : Slyly Gifted, a $32,000 Claimer, Has Sights Set on Hollywood Gold Cup

For the last three years, Dan Kenny has been the designated interviewer for the Breeders’ Cup, asking questions of the winning horsemen at trackside and having the answers piped up to the press box.

Kenny, who’s also hosted racing shows from Hollywood Park, could go from interviewer to interviewee Sunday, should the once lowly Slyly Gifted spring an upset in the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup.

Kenny and the other 22 members of the Santa Barbara Stables own only 25% of Slyly Gifted, but that won’t decrease the thrill should this $32,000 claiming horse wins the richest race of the Hollywood Park season.

The Santa Barbara group--actually, except for Kenny, most of them are from Los Angeles--has already overdosed on thrills because of a horse who was a claimer one day and a stakes winner three months later.

Having conquered tracks such as Longacres near Seattle and Northlands Park in Canada last year, Slyly Gifted will try to make the quantum leap in the Gold Cup. Kenny is just happy that the horse will reach the starting gate; his trainer, Phil Hronec, doesn’t know what to expect.

“Fitness will not play a part with this horse Sunday because I know he’s fit,” Hronec said. “He’s also capable of laying close to the leaders and finishing strong. My concern is that he’s not run against this type of horses before.”

Because of the scarcity nationwide of good handicap horses this year, footage of the 48th Gold Cup will not be placed in a time capsule. But there are some horses--1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand and 1985 2-year-old champion Tasso--running who at least had reputations good enough to be sullied, and Judge Angelucci, whose first major win was as an 18-1 longshot in the Californian at Hollywood three weeks ago, will be out to prove that he truly belongs in top company.

Eleven horses were entered for the 1-mile handicap. In post-position order, with jockeys and weights, they are: Slyly Gifted, Rafael Meza, 114 pounds; Captain Vigors, Pat Day, 112; Schiller, Dave Patton, 114; Fobby Forbes, Antonio Castanon, 112; Ferdinand, Bill Shoemaker, 124; Thrill Show, Eddie Delahoussaye, 120; Stop the Fighting, Pat Valenzuela, 112; Red Attack, Gary Stevens, 114; Late Request, Alex Solis, 112; Judge Angelucci, Gary Baze, 118, and Tasso, Chris McCarron, 115.

Because Charlie Whittingham, who has won the Gold Cup a record seven times, trains all three and owns part of one, Ferdinand, Judge Angelucci and Thrill Show will be coupled in the betting and will be heavily favored. Ferdinand and Judge Angelucci would have been the 1-2 betting choices if they hadn’t been part of an entry.

When Slyly Gifted made his career debut, running against $32,000 claimers at Hollywood in May of 1986, he was 20-1 on the morning line and opened at 4-1.

That was enough to catch the eye of handicapper Kenny, who was just organizing Santa Barbara Stables. Members of the syndicate were each committed to $25,000 over three years and there was money in the till because they had just sold two claims that hadn’t worked out.

Slyly Gifted finally went off at 12-1, and although he finished fifth, he was only 1 lengths behind the winner after making up a lot of ground.

“Jack Kaenel (the jockey) had him rolling like O.J. Simpson in open field,” Kenny said. “Not far past the wire, he was eight lengths in front of the winner and they were only going six furlongs.”

Slyly Gifted’s barn, which apparently had accounted for the heavy mutuel play early, didn’t like the race and Kenny did. Of such combinations are horse deals struck.

Kenny verbally made the purchase that night, for $35,000, and the deal stood even though Arnold Winick, another believer in Slyly Gifted, came around the next morning with a higher offer.

Slyly Gifted won two weeks later by six lengths, in a $50,000 claiming race.

He won in allowance company his next out, was fourth in a grass stake at Del Mar on opening day and then, in August, won the Longacres Derby and the Canadian Derby at Northlands. He tied the track record for 1 3/16 miles at Longacres and broke the track record for 1 3/8 miles at Northlands.

After the Canadian Derby, John Franks, the Shreveport, La., man who has twice won the Eclipse Award for best owner, bought 75% of Slyly Gifted. Franks doesn’t like to say what he pays for horses and Kenny will only say that Franks gave his group “a legit price.”

Franks wanted to run Slyly Gifted in the Super Derby in September at Louisiana Downs, and he finished fifth in a seven-horse field.

“He had just had two hard races and then we had to ship him all the way to Louisiana, where the humidity was 90%,” Hronec said. “The spot wasn’t right for him.”

Slyly Gifted developed foot problems after that. He had one patched quarter-crack going into the Malibu at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 and after running fourth the other hoof was also damaged. Three weeks later, the gelding made his first start as a 4-year-old and beat only one horse in the Kyne Handicap at Bay Meadows, coming off the track bleeding from both hoofs.

“It was a misjudgment on my part to run in the Kyne,” Hronec says now.

Slyly Gifted got a rest, returning to action on June 4 at Hollywood Park, where he had won two of his first three starts. Twice he was knocked around by other horses, then he lost by a nose to Late Request.

“He had enough reasons to get beat, and still ran a mile in 1:34 3/5,” Hronec said. “He came out of the race super and he’s trained well since then.

“Several days ago, he even worked faster than I wanted.”

Slyly Gifted has earned $274,000, most of it for Kenny and partners. He can earn $275,000 in just one race Sunday, some of which might be needed to repair Hollywood Park’s winner’s circle. There’ll be room for John Franks and Dan Kenny, but the other 22 owners of this horse are capable of major damage.

Horse Racing Notes

Jerry Lambert, who rode Native Diver to three straight wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup in 1965-66-67, is trying to make a comeback, at 46, in Northern California, and will ride Santa Rosa Prince in today’s Los Angeles Handicap at Hollywood Park. . . . Santa Rosa Prince is trained by Ross Brinson, who was unable to get Prince Don B. ready for the Gold Cup. Brinson won the Gold Cup 40 years ago with Cover Up. . . . Badger Land, winner of the Flamingo Stakes in 1986, is headed for retirement after recurring tendon problems. . . . Favorites have won 24 of the 47 Gold Cups. . . . Thrill Show’s Gold Cup will be only his second start on dirt. . . . Ferdinand has won 1 of 9 starts since the ’86 Derby and Tasso is 3 for 10 since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 1985. . . . Judge Angelucci, 1 for 5 as a 3-year-old, is 4 for 5 this year.