Trokhos Makes the Grass His Turf : He Outruns Vallotton Down Stretch to Win San Marcos

The trainers who were among the most critical of Santa Anita’s grass course ran 1-2 Sunday as Trokhos outdueled Vallotton in the stretch for a 1 1/2-length victory in the $164,700 San Marcos Handicap, which was the first turf race at the track in a week.

Eddie Gregson, who trains Trokhos, labeled the Santa Anita grass course “dangerous,” suggesting that there were so many divots flying that gophers might be at work. Wayne Lukas, Vallotton’s trainer, called the grass layout “an absolute joke.”

Santa Anita officials suspended turf racing last Monday, but after a week of warmer temperatures and no rain, they obtained the jockeys’ approval Thursday and kept the San Marcos on the grass.

After Sunday’s race, Cliff Goodrich, Santa Anita’s general manager, polled the jockeys and indicated that another grass race will be scheduled for Thursday.

Trokhos ended a 10-race losing streak by winning for the first time since he notched a victory in France in September, 1987, but Gregson sidestepped direct comments about the condition of the course.

“I guess I’ve said a lot of things about the turf, maybe because everybody’s got my phone number,” Gregson said. “It’s been kind to me (today), so you better ask the also-rans what they think.”

Vallotton, who raced in France until this year, won his debut under Lukas Jan. 13, which was one of only 7 grass races at the meet before Sunday.

“The horses handled the turf better than they did before,” Lukas said, “but I’d be hard-pressed to brag about it.”

Lukas said Vallotton bobbled near the sixteenth pole, but Gary Stevens, riding the 4-year-old colt, didn’t think that the course was the cause.

“He was tired and he just lost his footing,” Stevens said. “But he was handling the course and I don’t think it had anything to do with the bobble.”

Goodrich had the track crew move in the inner rail 15 feet for the San Marcos. “We wanted to give the horses a chance to run over the best part of the course,” he said. “Otherwise, we didn’t do anything, we just let the better weather help us out.”

There are plans for a $2 1/2-million turf-improvement program at the end of the season, which will include the use of a soil stabilizer that has worked in Hong Kong.

“Rye grass is not the answer,” said Allen Paulson, an owner who had to have an expensive horse destroyed last Sunday after he broke down in a grass race. “Rye grass is used on golf courses, where you don’t mind divots.”

Darrell Vienna, who saddled Master Treaty for a fifth-place finish in the San Marcos, disagreed with trainers who said the course was dangerous.

“It’s never been dangerous,” Vienna said. “I wouldn’t start a horse on a course if it was dangerous. The course just needs to be fixed. Maybe next year it’ll be all right.”

Trokhos was just one of several starters in the San Marcos who seemed to be can’t-win horses. The 8-horse field had an overall record of 13 victories in 73 races last year and besides Trokhos two other entries--Loyal Double and McCubbin--hadn’t won since 1987. Those two were last across the finish line Sunday.

Because of the company he has kept--second to Great Communicator twice and second behind Nasr el Arab last year--Putting went off the 11-10 favorite in the San Marcos and never challenged. He finished fourth, beaten by 8 lengths.

“He wasn’t aggressive at all,” said Fernando Toro, who rode Putting. “He started lugging in with me on the backside and I hit him. I knew I was in trouble when I asked him to go close to the leaders. He showed me no desire.”

Roberto’s Dancer, who like Putting hadn’t won since last March, finished third, 4 lengths behind Trokhos.

Vincent Kanowsky of Newport Beach, who owns Trokhos, picked up a purse of $97,200. Trokhos, running 1 1/4 miles in 2:02, which was three-fifths of a second faster than Great Communicator’s time last year, was the second betting choice in a crowd of 29,617 and paid $7.20, $5 and $3.40. The other payoffs were $6.20 and $5 for Vallotton and $6 for Roberto’s Dancer.

Trokhos was originally trained in the United States by Laurie Anderson, but after 3 seconds, a third and a fifth in 5 starts, he was moved to Gregson’s barn. The horse had hoof problems and made his first start for Gregson at Del Mar last September.

“For me, he’s had all the excuses,” Gregson said. “He got shuffled back in that first race. Then at Santa Anita, I missed an allowance race with him and he was a close third in a stake. Then I ran him in the Burke (a major stake) and he was probably overmatched. His first race this year, I ran him on a drying-out the track, the first time he was ever on dirt, and he couldn’t get clear.”

After 22 grass races, Gregson said he ran Trokhos on dirt at Santa Anita Jan. 6 because the 6-year-old son of Tromos and Lusaka, a Tom Rolfe mare, had worked sensationally on the main track. Gregson plans to keep Trokhos on grass.

Laffit Pincay, who rode Trokhos for the first time in the fourth-place finish on the dirt, won his seventh stake of the season Sunday and added 2 other victories to give him 35 for the meet. He leads in both categories.

Pincay figured he would be on the lead, but it took Trokhos about a half-mile to get to the front.

“When I got the lead, my horse really relaxed,” Pincay said. “He really tries. When the horse (Vallotton) came up to him (in the stretch), I hit him left-handed and he started running again. The footing is so much better than it was. The horse could get a much better hold.”

Toro rode Trokhos in his American races until Pincay assumed the mount earlier this month.

“Toro did nothing wrong but with the horse not winning, it got to the point where you had to either change the trainer or change the rider,” Gregson said. “I opted for the rider.”

Horse Racing Notes

In his second mount back, Pat Valenzuela won a race. Valenzuela returned to action Sunday after being kicked by a horse and suffering a broken cheekbone on Dec. 28. . . . Sandy Hawley took off his mounts Sunday because of the flu. . . . Eddie Gregson sent out Super Diamond to win the San Pasqual Handicap on Super Bowl Sunday last year. . . . This time, Super Ready won a race on the same day as the Super Bowl. . . . Mountain Ghost, a stakes winner in Louisiana but sixth in the Hollywood Futurity last year, makes his first start as a 3-year-old on Wednesday, running in the 7-furlong San Vicente Stakes.