Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar : Frankel Doubles His Pleasure While Jockey Black Has No Fun

For trainer Bobby Frankel, Sunday’s Del Mar stakes doubleheader was a dream. For jockey Corey Black, it was a nightmare.

Frankel swept the $275,250 Eddie Read Handicap with Saratoga Passage and the $111,000 San Clemente Handicap with Darby’s Daughter, two horses who are finally realizing their full potential.

Black, on the other hand, had his hands full with the antics of the high-strung Seattle Meteor in the San Clemente (she beat one horse) and the front-running Halcyon Days in the Eddie Read.

The Read was actually a double feature unto itself. Halcyon Days, an Irish colt who had won three consecutive races for trainer Eddie Gregson, was in a world of his own through the first seven furlongs of the 1 1/8-mile turf event.

Breaking from the outside of the eight-horse field, Halcyon Days took off like his tail was on fire. He led by five lengths at the first call, at least eight at the half mile mark and perhaps even more than that at various points along the backstretch.

Meanwhile, back in the pack, the other seven jockeys made their plans for the moment when Halcyon Days would run out of gas. Eddie Delahoussaye, aboard Saratoga Passage, had the best view, from last place.

“You just have to ride your own race, even when it comes up like this one,” said Delahoussaye, who was winning the Read for the fourth time.

“I decided to ignore Corey’s horse and just wait.”

And wait, and wait. Delahoussaye dawdled at the back until the field entered the final turn. To that point, Quiet Boy had been running second under Alex Solis, setting a more reasonable target for the stretch runners.

“I just pretended Alex was on the lead,” said Gary Stevens, who rode eventual runner-up Skip Out Front.

Halcyon Days was still playing hard to get as the field straightened into the stretch. But then, with a furlong to run, it was open season on the exhausted leader.

Stevens and Skip Out Front were first to burst out of the pack. Delahoussaye, after threading his way between horses, came flying on the outside, then Pasakos and Robbie Davis put in a run on the inside.

In the final 50 yards, the long-striding Saratoga Passage pulled clear to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Skip Out Front, who had finished third and fourth in previous runnings of the Read, was second by a half-length over Pasakos. Halcyon Days finished fourth, beaten less than three lengths.

“He was his own worst enemy,” said Black. “I tried everything to get him to relax, keeping him on a loose rein.”

The 20-year-old Black took a fair amount of ribbing for ride, especially from his cubicle mate and mentor, Fernando Toro.

“What are you complaining about, jock?” said Toro, who finished sixth on Mister Wonderful II. “You couldn’t have had a better trip!”

Saratoga Passage, a 4-year-old Washington-bred son of Pirateer, is now two for two on the turf and getting better with every start.

The gangly chestnut was the Washington Horse of the Year in 1987, when he invaded Southern California to win the Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita. His owners, a group of Seattle racing fans and breeders that call themselves the Saratoga I Stable, had their sights set on the 1988 Kentucky Derby.

But the progress of Saratoga Passage was halted by a lung infection in March of 1988, and then, when he tried to come back last summer, he suffered a broken cannon bone.

Frankel took over the training of Saratoga Passage late last year and won with him first time out in February. He placed in two Santa Anita stakes, finished sixth to Blushing John in the Pimlico Special, then was well beaten in the Californian on June 4 at Hollywood Park.

“I should have put him on the turf a long time ago,” said Frankel, who won past Reads with No Turning, Wickerr (twice) and Al Mamoon.

“But maybe it’s for the best. We haven’t used him up and we’ve got a terrific grass horse.”

Saratoga Passage was timed in 1:49 and paid $12.80 as the fourth choice. Silver Circus, the mild favorite, raced in fourth early and faded to last.

In the San Clemente Handicap, Darby’s Daughter finally made good on her promise of last season with a three-quarter-length victory over Sticky Wile.

Last year as a 2-year-old, the Texas-bred the daughter of Darby Creek Road was among the best in the East. She won four of seven races, and even threw a scare into Open Mind in the Demoiselle Stakes last November in New York, coming within a neck of the upset.

At the time, Open Mind was fresh from her win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Since then she has gone on to even greater glory, running her winning streak to 10 races, including Saturday’s Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.

Darby’s Daughter, on the other hand, virtually disappeared this year.

At the end of 1988, owner James Cottrell sent her to Charlie Whittingham at Santa Anita, but she never ran. A few months later the bay filly went over to Frankel when his client, Edmund Gann of San Diego, bought her from Cottrell.

The San Clemente was Darby’s Daughter’s third start for Frankel after two losses at Hollywood Park. Gann also had his California Oaks winner General Charge in the race, and the entry went off the 7-2 third choice.

As expected, Tapping Tudor set the early pace, while Sticky Wile and A Thrilling Moment stayed close. Gary Stevens had Darby’s Daughter in fourth, only a few lengths off the lead after a half-mile.

Approaching the far turn, Chris McCarron sent favored Reluctant Guest alongside Darby’s Daughter. Stevens could have been trapped behind the tiring leaders, but suddenly Reluctant Guest dropped the bit and backed off.

“Chris had me cold,” Stevens said later. “If his filly hadn’t stopped, I’d have had to wait to make my move.”

While McCarron eased up on Reluctant Guest (she bled), Darby’s Daughter spurted through the final furlong to run down Sticky Wile. Bel Darling, at 24-1, popped through heavy traffic to finish fast for third.

Darby’s Daughter was clocked in 1:36 3/5 for the mile on firm turf, and the entry returned $9. The $5 exacta was worth $184.

Frankel confirmed that Darby’s Daughter would run next in the $150,000 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 27.

Horse Racing Notes

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Sunday Silence had to miss a few days’ training because of a minor cough. As a result, he will probably be running in the Sept. 24 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs instead of the Molson Challenge On Sept. 10 at Woodbine. . . . After going down in consecutive races last Friday, Fernando Valenzuela did not ride Sunday and will not ride today. He received a gash on his head and is complaining of body sorenes. . . . Corey Black bounced back after falling at the start of Sunday’s fourth race to win the sixth on Great Event for Del Mar president John Mabee. Great Event paid $98. . . . Del Mar’s business is booming, both on-track and off-track. Overall attendance is up 4.4% and betting handle is up 10.6% over last year’s figures. . . . California-based Present Value continues to barnstorm across America. After winning stakes in Detroit and Chicago, the Jerry Fanning-trained runner took Sunday’s $150,000 Canterbury Cup in Shakopee, Minn. Frank Olivares was aboard. . . . While Jeff Lukas sent out Steinlen to win the Bernard Baruch Handicap on Sunday at Saratoga, father Wayne Lukas was at Del Mar to enjoy the maiden win of the 2-year-old Majestic Light filly Patches for W.T. Young. . . . Analyzing Great Communicator’s fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Arlington Handicap, jockey Ray Sibille was still positive about his chances in the Arlington Million Sept. 3. “He ran good to the eighth pole and just did get beat for third,” Sibille said. “He got beat about five lengths, but he’ll be dead fit for the Million now.”