Weekend Racing at Del Mar : Super Diamond May Be Forced to Set Cabrillo Pace Today

The running style of Super Diamond is to be close to the lead, but not leading.

Today, though, in the $100,000 Cabrillo Handicap at Del Mar, Super Diamond figures to be the leader. That’s because only three other horses were entered in the Cabrillo, and in a four-horse race, somebody has to take the lead.

Eddie Gregson, who trains Super Diamond, tried plotting the Cabrillo the other day and although he figures his 7-year-old gelding will go to the front, there won’t be much breathing room.

“I look for Shoemaker to be right at our horse’s throat,” Gregson said.

Bill Shoemaker will be riding Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner who will be making his first start since he won the Hollywood Gold Cup June 28. That was Ferdinand’s first major win--and only his second victory--since he won the Derby.

Others in the field for the 1 1/8-mile Cabrillo are Nostalgia’s Star and Hopeful Word, who couldn’t beat Super Diamond at 1 1/16 miles in the San Diego Handicap Aug. 8. Nostalgia’s Star was outrun in the final sixteenth of mile and finished second, a half-length back, and Hopeful Word ran fourth, beaten by 4 lengths. Hopeful Word won the Cabrillo last year in the excellent time of 1:46 2/5.

“I don’t imagine Hopeful Word will be too far behind us early, either,” Gregson said. “And then it will be Nostalgia’s Star farther back, trying to come from behind.”

Gregson cautioned, however, that small fields sometimes produce strange races. “For one thing, there’s always the chance that the pace can be unusual,” he said.

Although Ferdinand has won only 2 of 10 starts since his Derby victory 16 months ago, his record comes with several qualifications. His chances were compromised by a sloppy track in the Belmont Stakes and this year two noses cost him victories in the Strub and the Santa Anita Handicap.

Then there were two misadventures on grass, a surface that Ferdinand is not likely to see again, despite turf bloodlines. The first time Ferdinand worked on grass, as a 2-year-old at Hollywood Park in 1984, he tried to tell everybody how he felt about turf.

“He tried to stop and eat the grass,” Shoemaker said.

Today’s race is the start of a campaign that is expected to lead Ferdinand to the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Hollywood Park Nov. 21. Super Diamond is also headed in that direction, although his owners, Roland and Ramona Sahm of Rancho Santa Fe, will have to pay a supplementary fee of $360,000 to make him eligible.

Ferdinand, carrying 126, will be spotting Super Diamond two pounds in the Cabrillo, which Gregson won with his Kentucky Derby winner, Gato Del Sol, in 1983.

The weights are what Gregson expected. Super Diamond, making his first start in more than eight months, carried 123 and spotted his opposition 5 to 11 pounds while winning the San Diego Handicap.

“He’s been doing fine since that race and he’s looked great all week,” Gregson said of the brittle-legged California-bred.

The Cabrillo might be short on quantity, but all four horses have the bankrolls. Headed by Ferdinand’s $1.8 million, the field has earned more than $5 million.

In fact, Super Diamond is the only member of the quartet that hasn’t gone over the $1-million mark. But he could become a millionaire himself if he gets the lead and keeps it today.

Horse Racing Notes Arlington Park announced the 12-horse field for the Budweiser-Arlington Million a week from Sunday. The group includes one surprise--Le Belvedere--since he’s scheduled to run in the Arlington Handicap today. Le Belvedere was fourth in the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar Aug. 15, and the Million will be his third tough race in about three weeks. . . . Besides Le Belvedere, other Charlie Whittingham-trained horses listed for the Million are Rivlia and Forlitano. Manila, the probable favorite despite his recent loss at Saratoga, will be joined by Dance of Life, Explosive Darling, Eddie Read winner Sharrood, Theatrical, Then Again, Triptych, Spellbound and Glaros.

A field of 13 is entered for Sunday’s $150,000 Del Mar Oaks. In post-position order, the 3-year-old fillies are Lizzy Hare, Chicken Dinner, Hello Sweet Thing, Future Bright, Misshigh Andmighty, Perchance To Dream, Develop, Oueee Bebe, Down Again, Miss Mai Tai, Chapel of Dreams, Davie’s Lamb and Fraulein Lieber. Develop and Down Again will run coupled in the betting for the 1 1/8-mile grass race. Perchance To Dream, winner of the Hollywood Oaks, carries top weight of 122 pounds.

Mi Preferido, winner of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, came out of a Del Mar workout with sore shins and will be out of training at least until the end of September. . . . Don B. Blue, ridden by Russell Baze, lurked in last place until the stretch, rallied strongly in the drive and won by 1 lengths Friday in the $26,000 feature race. Temptation Time, with Laffit Pincay aboard, was second. Don B. Blue covered 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15 3/5 and paid $18.80, $9.80 and $6.60. Temptation Time returned $7 and $4.60, while Tommy The Hawk paid $7 to show.