Oak Tree Meeting at Santa Anita : Derby Win Doesn’t Figure for This 2-Year-Old

Music Merci, the 2-year-old who will be heavily favored to win today’s $200,000 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita, has three strikes against him should he hope to win a Kentucky Derby.

He’s a Canadian-bred, a gelding and a gray.

In the Derby’s 114 years, only 2 Canadian horses--Northern Dancer in 1964 and Sunny’s Halo in 1983--have won; only 7 geldings--none since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929--have won; and only 4 grays have been victorious, the last being Gato Del Sol in 1982.

Told of this bit of Derby history, Craig Lewis, Music Merci’s trainer, smiled. “If the horse is that unusualmaybe we ought to put him on the road and make a circus out of him,” Lewis said.

All Lewis knows is that he likes Music Merci’s chances in the 1 1/16-mile Norfolk, which has drawn 8 other starters of varying ability. Texian, a $440,000 yearling, and Hawkster ran 3-4, well behind Music Merci, a month ago when he won the 1-mile Del Mar Futurity. Texian has since won the Canterbury Juvenile in Minnesota, and Hawkster, not nominated for the Norfolk, is being supplemented into the race for $10,000--as are Double Quick and Shipping Time, a couple of Mel Stute-trained contenders who ran 1-2 on opening day of the Oak Tree meeting Oct. 5.

“If a trainer like Mel Stute is high enough on two of his horses to supplement them, then it creates a danger,” Lewis said.

Music Merci has won 4 of 5 starts, with Lewis partly blaming a seventh-place finish last July in the Hollywood Juvenile on a delay that forced his horse to stand in the gate for about 5 minutes.

The Norfolk will be Music Merci’s first start at Santa Anita. “I don’t anticipate him having any trouble with the track,” Lewis said. “He’s taken to all tracks equally well, and his works here have been encouraging. He’s a very willing and aggressive horse in the mornings.”

The Norfolk would be more interesting if King Glorious had been able to run. King Glorious is undefeated, having won his 3 starts by 21 lengths, including a 4-length victory in the Hollywood Juvenile.

However, while training at Bay Meadows in preparation for Del Mar, King Glorious caught a virus and had a temperature for 4 days. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer lost 25 days of training and the colt has had only 2 workouts since returning. Friday at Bay Meadows, King Glorious worked a half-mile in :50 1/5 over a muddy track.

Not eligible for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs Nov. 5, King Glorious is being readied for the Hollywood Prevue Nov. 12, which is a prep for the Hollywood Futurity Dec. 18.

“He’s totally recovered,” Hollendorfer said. “He didn’t lose that much time, and the rest didn’t hurt him, he runs real good fresh, so that’s not a concern when we bring him back. We’re not too disappointed, we’re just happy that we’ve got the horse back 100%.”

Little is being said nationally about California’s 2-year-olds, because the juveniles in the East--in particular, the precocious Easy Goer--are dominating the division. Latest odds on the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile from the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas make Easy Goer the 2-1 favorite. Music Merci is listed at 10-1, which must amuse Lewis, because he was surprised his horse went off as high as 6-1 in the Del Mar Futurity.

Easy Goer, who has won 3 straight after losing his debut by a nose, runs a mile for the first time in the Champagne at Belmont Park today. Among his 4 opponents are Winners Laugh, who was second, 3 lengths behind Easy Goer, in the Cowdin, and Trapp Mountain, who has won 3 out of 4, including the Futurity at Belmont.

Lewis has picked up another 2-year-old, Mountain Ghost, who after finishing fifth in the Del Mar Futurity was transferred from Stute’s barn. Mountain Ghost has since won a stake at Louisiana Downs and Lewis is planning to run him Oct. 27 in the Young America at the Meadowlands, with the Breeders’ Cup only an afterthought now.

“He would have to do something astonishing at the Meadowlands,” Lewis said.

Horse Racing Notes

Personal Ensign and Winning Colors, the country’s 2 best fillies, are both running this weekend, Winning Colors going today in the Spinster at Keeneland, and Personal Ensign trying to extend her unbeaten streak to 12 races in the Beldame Sunday at Belmont . . . Some Romance, running with a stablemate, Open Mind, is heavily favored in the Frizette for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont today . . . Some Romance is the Frontier’s 5-1 favorite to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Other favorites are Mining at 2-1 in the Sprint, Personal Ensign at 9-5 in the Distaff, Miesque at 2-1 in the Mile, Mill Native at 6-1 in the Turf and Alysheba, before his win Friday night at the Meadowlands, at 2-1 in the Classic.

Laffit Pincay, who rode at Keeneland Friday and is at Belmont today, will ride River Memories Sunday in the Rothmans International at Woodbine. Chris McCarron rode River Memories to victory in last year’s Rothmans . . . Wonders Delight, trained by Wayne Lukas and ridden by Gary Stevens, was a 1 1/2-length winner over Affirmed Classic Friday in the Alcibiades for 2-year-old fillies at Keeneland. Wonders Delight was coupled in the betting with Solid Eight, and paid $5.60. Seattle Meteor finished third and Solid Eight was sixth under Pincay in the 7-horse field. Wonders Delight’s time for 1 1/16 miles was 1:46 2/5.

Goodbye Halo, running on grass for the first time, shares high weight with Annoconnor in Sunday’s $150,000 Las Palmas Handicap at Santa Anita. Both will carry 120 pounds, but Goodbye Halo would have been weighted at 124 pounds except that she gets a 4-pound allowance because she’s only a 3-year-old. This is the 10-horse field for the 1 1/8-mile race: Short Sleeves, to be ridden by McCarron, 119 pounds; Ladanum, Stevens, 114; No Review, Rafael Meza, 114; Carita Tostada, Frank Olivares, 115; Choritzo, Pat Valenzuela, 118; Goodbye Halo, Eddie Delahoussaye, 120; Annoconnor, Corey Black, 120; Miss Alto, Alex Solis, 114; Jeanne Jones, Aaron Gryder, 117, and Carmenitta, Fernando Toro, 113. Short Sleeves and Choritzo will run as an entry, and Goodbye Halo, Jeanne Jones and Ladanum will be separate in the betting, though they’re trained by Charlie Whittingham.

Laconda made a four-wide move on the far turn to contend for the lead, then pulled away in the stretch and beat Superbest by 4 1/2 lengths Friday in the $34,000 turf feature. Ridden by Russell Baze, Laconda ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:47 4/5 and paid $4.80, $4 and $3.40. The win, Laconda’s second straight on turf, was worth $18,700. Superbest, ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye, returned $6.20 and $5.60. Explosive Dream, with Jerry Olguin up, paid $6 to show.