Seven Rivers Holds Up His End of Stable

In November of 1988, the Charlie Whittingham stable had high hopes for a pair of promising 2-year-old colts, one a near black son of Halo named Sunday Silence, the other a salt-and-pepper gray named Seven Rivers.

Sunday Silence went on to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes last spring and and probably will earn a horse of the year title if he wins the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday.

Seven Rivers, on the other hand, dropped out of sight 11 months ago and did not resurface until the Del Mar meeting in August. Since then, the son of Irish River has been doing his best to catch up with his famous stablemate.

After winning three of four races along the comeback trail, Seven Rivers ran the best race of his interrupted career Sunday at Santa Anita to take the $111,100 Volante Handicap. In the process, he upstaged his heavily favored stablemate, River Master, who beat only one horse.

Seven Rivers reached the end of the nine furlongs on the grass three-quarters of a length in front of Bruho, and Jack Kent Cooke’s Raise a Stanza finished another neck back in third.

Robbie Davis and Seven Rivers circled five horses at the head of the stretch on their winning move.

“I really didn’t have much choice,” Davis said. “Around the turn I saw it coming. None of those horses inside me were backing up, so I just saved as much ground as I could before swinging wide.”

At the head of the stretch, Bruho, under Gary Stevens, appeared to have the pacesetting Immortal Script measured. Raise a Stanza, on the outside, and Art Work, down on the rail, also were in the thick of contention. Then Davis unleashed his gray colt.

Eddie Delahoussaye felt helpless aboard 11-10 favorite River Master, whose only defeat in four starts on grass had come against the turf star Hawkster in the Del Mar Derby.

“I understand he hurt in his last race, and it must still be bothering him, because something was hurting him,” Delahoussaye said.

Seven Rivers was clocked in 1:45 4/5 and returned $16.40, $8 and $5. Bruho paid $5.40 and $4.20, and Raise a Stanza returned $5 to show.

Horse Racing Notes

Del Mar Futurity winner Drag Race will try to erase the memory of his flop in the recent Norfolk Stakes when he takes on six other California sales products in the Desert Wine Stakes at 7 furlongs this Wednesday. . . . Laffit Pincay had a day to forget. He had mounts go lame, finish last and flip in the starting gate. Tokatee, his mount in the Volante, was scratched.