Hollywood Oaks : Gorgeous Looks Good as Gold in Winning by 7 1/2 Lengths

Five years ago, in racing’s first $3-million race, Slew o’ Gold got caught between the rock and the hard place--Wild Again and Gate Dancer--in the stretch run at Hollywood Park and wound up second, after Gate Dancer’s disqualification, to Wild Again in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

On Sunday, a sizable 3-year-old daughter of Slew o’ Gold ran in another major race at Hollywood and had none of the distractions. Shifting into high gear on the far turn, Gorgeous put in one long run and romped to a 7 1/2-length victory in the $160,200 Hollywood Oaks, adding to a reputation that began in Kentucky and New York.

This was the second major victory and the fifth one in seven starts for Gorgeous, and although she was unable to beat Open Mind, the star filly of Wayne Lukas’ stable, in New York a month ago, she easily put away two of the same trainer’s top runners Sunday.

Kelly, a Secretariat filly who has never won a stake, finished second in the Oaks, with the Lukas entry running third and fourth in the six-horse field. Kelly finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Lea Lucinda and it was 2 1/2 lengths farther back to Imaginary Lady, who had her three-race winning streak stopped.

Gorgeous, ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye for the seventh consecutive time, covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:47 4/5, which missed the stakes record by just two-fifths of a second. The second choice by only a few dollars to the Lukas entry in the crowd of 24,336, Gorgeous paid $4.20, $3.40 and $2.10. Kelly returned $5.20 and $2.10 and the show price on Lea Lucinda was $2.10.

Gorgeous earned $92,700 for her owner and breeder, Robert Clay of Midway, Ky., to boost her career total to $390,000.

After the Oaks, Clay, Delahoussaye and trainer Neil Drysdale all said that they would welcome a return match with Open Mind, particularly at 1 1/8 miles, which is Gorgeous’ best distance. Open Mind won over Clay’s filly by a head at that distance in a record-breaking Mother Goose at Belmont Park last month and it’s possible that the two horses might clash again in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama at Saratoga on Aug. 12.

“I think we could beat Open Mind if we ran again,” Delahoussaye said. “This filly was not as seasoned as Open Mind when we hooked up last time, but she still ran a hell of a race. Today, she was a lot stronger, and she finished a lot stronger than she did in the Open Mind race.”

Imaginary Lady’s style is early speed, but she had company on the fast pace from Kool Arrival, who was running for the first time in four months. In fact, Kool Arrival made the lead in the early run down the backstretch before Imaginary Lady moved ahead approaching the turn.

On the turn, however, Gorgeous and Delahoussaye made a break, after sitting in the fourth place for the first half-mile. Once Gorgeous went by Imaginary Lady, the outcome was all but over, although Delahoussaye did hit his filly seven times through the stretch to make sure she didn’t lose interest.

The fractions were :45 2/5 for a half-mile and 1:09 4/5 for six furlongs.

“We got pressure from the 3-horse (Kool Arrival), and that cost us our chance,” Lukas said. “I knew the other filly was fresh and I thought she might go out like that. You can’t run like that early and expect to beat a closer. And you can’t dictate what the other guy is going to do.”

Kool Arrival wound up last, beaten by almost 20 lengths.

“The pace was too fast,” said Gary Stevens, riding Imaginary Lady. “I got fried on the lead. My filly wouldn’t come back and relax, that’s all.”

Drysdale is winning races with horses other than Gorgeous and is having his finest season. His barn has earned more than $2 million, which ranks the 41-year-old trainer fourth nationally, about $4.5 million behind the Lukas operation.

“There was a cracking pace and my filly relaxed nicely,” Drysdale said. “I don’t know how to compare this filly to some of the other good ones I’ve had, but she does everything right. That was a tough decision that she lost (to Open Mind) in New York.”

Drysdale, when was asked about the quickness of Gorgeous’ move, said: “When she goes, she goes,” the trainer said. “When it was time to go, it was time to go.”

Six years after he began his training career, Drysdale began putting major victories on the board in 1980 with another talented 3-year-old filly, Bold ‘n Determined. Drysdale also trained Princess Rooney, who was the national filly-mare champion after she won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 1984.

“I hate to compare horses but as far as riding, I think Bold ‘n Determined was a little more kinder to relax and stuff, than Gorgeous,” Delahoussaye said. “This filly gets a little tense and on edge. But she’s just as genuine as Bold ‘n Determined, and she tries her heart out. I think she’s one of the top fillies I’ve ever ridden.”

Horse Racing Notes

The stewards at Hollywood Park conducted a hearing into the Pick Nine scam at the track earlier this season and on Sunday they recommended that Deane Bailey, a mutuel clerk who was implicated, have his license permanently revoked. His fate will be decided by the California Horse Racing Board. Bailey had already been suspended after a cancelled $4,800 Pick Nine ticket wound up being privately sold to several bettors, who found out that an apparent winning ticket, worth $1.3 million, had been voided by Bailey at the window. . . . Bailey’s lawyer indicated to the stewards that he might appeal their ruling in the courts. “There are indications that something like this may have happened before,” said Pete Pedersen, one of the stewards.

The stewards also fined trainer Steven Young $750 and placed him on probation for two months after his horse, Dubiously, tested positive for an illegal drug after running third at Hollywood Park June 9. Dubiously, who was treated with a drug that is given to horses with respiratory problems, was disqualified from any purse money.

For good measure, Neil Drysdale and Eddie Delahoussaye teamed up to win the last race Sunday, and Delahoussaye had a three-winner day, as did Pat Valenzuela. That brought Valenzuela out of a slump in which he had only one winner out of more than 50 mounts.