Weekend Racing at Hollywood Park : Music Merci in Different Spotlight

Three months ago, trainer Craig Lewis figured he would be spending the first Saturday in May at the Kentucky Derby, running his top 3-year-old, Music Merci.

Music Merci will be running today all right, but it will be at Hollywood Park in the Spotlight Handicap. And the closest Lewis got to the Derby this year was the Churchill Downs souvenir T-shirt he was wearing Friday morning at the barn.

“You can describe my feelings as ambivalent,” said Lewis as Music Merci’s kindly gray face peered out of stall No. 1.

“In my opinion, I’ve got the third-best 3-year-old in the country, behind Easy Goer and Sunday Silence. But it would have made no sense to ship back there for third place. The prudent thing is to stay here, run in the Spotlight, and then ship to Chicago to run for a half a million in the Illinois Derby. Making money is the point of this business, isn’t it?”

Making money, in lieu of national headlines, is what Music Merci does best. Since the little gelding won his first start nearly a year ago, he has earned $781,020 for owners Harvey Cohen and Lonnie Pendleton. Of the 16 horses running in the Derby, only favored Easy Goer has banked more.

At a mile on the turf, the Spotlight deals right to Music Merci’s strength, even though he has never run on grass. His best races have been at a mile on hard main tracks, and the Hollywood Park course has been extremely firm, prompting several near-record performances already at the meeting.

Chris McCarron will be riding Music Merci, who carries top weight of 122 pounds. The opposition includes Tenacious Tom, Northern Drama, Raise a Stanza, Double Quick, Magnetized, Roback, Runaway Dunaway, Irish, Excellerbration, Exemplary Leader and Hollywood Reporter.

Also featured today will be the Triple Bend Handicap at seven furlongs on the main track.

Perfec Travel, who scored a 36-1 upset in the same race last year, will defend his title against high-weighted Oraibi, Frost Free, Hot Operator, Sensational Star, Jamoke, Happy in Space, Beyond the Wall and Iz a Saros.

And if trainer Charlie Whittingham does not win the Derby with Sunday Silence, he will have trouble losing Sunday’s $108,700 Wilshire Handicap at Hollywood.

Whittingham has the 1 1/8-mile turf race surrounded with Galunpe, Claire Marine and Fitzwilliam Place, any one of whom deserves to be favored.

The opposition includes Down Again, Lady Brunicardi, Pen Bal Lady and Double Wedge.