SANTA ANITA : Invited Guest, 24-1 Shot, Wins

On a day when dartboards and Tarot cards were the handicapping tools of choice, it should not have surprised that R.D. Hubbard’s Invited Guest, a 24-1 shot, won Sunday’s featured San Gorgonio Handicap at Santa Anita.

Nor should it have been a shock that White Mischief, at 35-1, finished second in the 1 1/8-mile turf event, especially after her trainer, Richard Cross, noted before the race that his mare had a “snowball’s chance in hell” of upsetting the likes of Colorado Dancer, Nikishka and Stylish Star.

“Well, not all snowballs melt,” said Cross, grinning after watching White Mischief come within a half-length of an even bigger upset.

There must have been something in the air. For eight baffling races, favorites wore their dubious honor like a millstone. Invited Guest simply followed the lead of Hawaya Sunny in the second race (paying $83.60), His Legacy in the fifth ($20.60) and Lady B. Strong in the seventh ($46.60).

The only choice to win all day was Pricey Mac in the finale, and he had to withstand a 10-minute stewards’ inquiry before shell-shocked bettors could collect.

Although she was overlooked by fans, Invited Guest always has been a favorite around the Richard Mandella stable.

The Irish-bred daughter of Be My Guest arrived in California late in 1987, on the heels of a promising European career, and promptly won a division of the Dahlia Handicap at Hollywood Park.

But that was her high point. In more than two frustrating seasons since, Invited Guest had won a few minor stakes around the country and had finished close to some good horses. But she never cashed in on that early promise until she won the San Gorgonio at age 6.

Mandella took part of the blame.

“It took me this long to figure out how she should be ridden,” said Mandella, who lost a heartbreaker on Saturday when Survive barely fell short in the Las Flores Handicap.

No matter what the pace, said Mandella, Invited Guest needs to be taken back and kept behind horses for as long as possible. Reserved in this manner, she will consistently produce a whirlwind finish.

“That’s hard for me to tell a jockey,” Mandella said. “Usually I want to give them the latitude to ride the race as it comes up. But with this mare, you’ve got to break her neck right out of the gate.”

Russell Baze, who won the Golden Poppy Handicap on Invited Guest last March at Golden Gate, confirmed Mandella’s instructions.

“Bury her--that’s just what he told me,” said Baze. “She’s not easy to rate, but when you ask her, she’ll give that one good punch.”

As the field ran past the stands the first time, Saros Brig was on a daylight lead and going easily. Stylish Star, Silver Lane and Nikishka were keeping her in sight.

The field did a little juggling down the backstretch, as Eddie Delahoussaye launched a mini-move with Nikishka on the outside, and Robbie Davis angled Darby’s Daughter to the inside, behind Stylish Star.

“It looked like Chris (McCarron on Stylish Star) had a lot of horse,” said Davis, who had ridden Invited Guest in a Dec. 21 allowance win at Hollywood Park. “I figured I’d follow him and be able to get through later.”

It wasn’t meant to be. Stylish Star could not sustain her run, and Darby’s Daughter was forced to take up at a crucial point.

“You thought you were in the garden spot and it ended up being full of weeds,” said Corey Black, who rode Saros Brig.

With a furlong to run, Black was still in control of the race. Then they all came flying. As Darby’s Daughter tried to get through along the inside, a three-horse battle was materializing out in the middle of the course.

Charging between horses, the French mare Oeilladine looked like a winner, but only for a moment. Closing fast on the outside, Invited Guest took command inside the final 70 yards, and then had to hold off the headlong finish of White Mischief and Fernando Toro.

White Mischief, who won the Hillsborough Handicap at Bay Meadows in November at odds of 18-1, was pinched back abruptly at the start of the San Gorgonio. Toro, however, discounted its effect.

“They did me a favor,” he said. “I’ve got to get her back behind horses right away anyway, and sometimes it takes a sixteenth of a mile. Today, because of the break, it only took a couple of jumps.”

Oeilladine was beaten by a head for second money. Stevens said she was a bit flat compared to her dazzling American debut 12 days earlier, when she won going a mile.

“I don’t know if it was the added distance or coming right back,” Stevens said of his mare. “The other day, though, she kept close on her own and then fired when I asked her. Today I kind of had to nudge her along early.”

Mandella noted after the race that Invited Guest is scheduled to be bred to top stallion Blushing Groom this spring.

“They wanted to get her back to Kentucky early,” Mandella said. “But ever since the decision was made to breed her, she (has) been coming on strong. I’ll talk it over with the owner and see how much longer she can run.”

The Invited Guest-White Mischief exacta returned $2,287. Combined with sixth-race winner Flying Reb ($31.20) and Lady B. Strong in the seventh, Invited Guest triggered an $18,952.80 triple that ranks second among Santa Anita’s all-time payoffs.

Horse Racing Notes

Pricey Mac, who was claimed for $32,000, gave trainer Brian Mayberry his sixth victory of the meeting, extending his lead to two over four pursuers . . . Eddie Delahoussaye and Alex Solis each won a race to remain in a tie atop the jockey standings going into the third week . . . Derby fever gets turned up a notch on Wednesday when Hollywood Futurity runner-up Farma Way meets Land Rush, English stakes winner Balla Cove and Laurel Futurity winner Robyn Dancer in the Los Feliz Stakes.