SANTA ANITA : Gorgeous Looks Marvelous in Tuneup for Santa Margarita

Gorgeous had her walkover Saturday, Bayakoa will have hers today and in two weeks, the nation’s two best female performers will get down to some serious business in the $300,000 Santa Margarita Handicap.

The scratch of Akinemod eliminated all the suspense from the $212,000 La Canada Saturday. It was nothing more than a brisk mile and an eighth workout for Gorgeous in her first start since she chased Bayakoa in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

With Eddie Delahoussaye only having to point her in the right direction, the 125-pound highweight and prohibitive 3-10 favorite cruised home five lengths in front of Luthier’s Launch and three other outclassed 4-year-old fillies.

Never really asked to run by her companion, the daughter of Slew O’Gold took over from Excellent Lady turning into the backstretch. The only question from there was what the final margin and time would be. Over a track which continues to play dull, she finished in 1:50 in what should be a good tightener for her rematch with Bayakoa in the Santa Margarita.

“I was happy she didn’t have to run against Akinemod in her first start because I think Akinemod is a very nice filly,” trainer Neil Drysdale said after Gorgeous’ sixth victory in nine career outings.

“I’d like to have a race where you don’t have to run against anybody. I thought this was a fairly easy race on her. She’s more mature and she’s filled out and stronger than she was last year, but then so is Bayakoa.

“A lot now depends on the weights (for the Santa Margarita). We’ll take all the weight we can get. The bigger the spread the better.”

Delahoussaye had a hard time believing how easily Gorgeous handled 125 Saturday.

“John Henry ran around for years and what’s the most he ever carried?” he said. “She’s a filly just turning four and she’s carrying 125. But she did it. She won easy and ran super.

“Bayakoa’s going to be tough, no doubt, but I’m looking forward to running against her again. Neil’s done a great job with her.”

Delahoussaye, who had a day he won’t ever forget, had only one mild concern after the La Canada.

“I hope she got something out of the race,” he said. “I moved my hands on her at the three-sixteenths pole because she wasn’t switching leads and she took off. Then, the last sixteenth, I wrapped up on her.”

Inactive since her Breeders’ Cup victory capped a 1989 campaign which resulted in an Eclipse Award, Bayakoa will have only three opponents in the $159,200 Santa Maria Handicap.

Victorious in nine of 11 starts last year, the 6-year-old Consultant’s Bid mare figures to have no more trouble than Gorgeous did in the mile and a sixteenth Santa Maria.

Invited Guest is the sharpest of her foes, but she is more effective on the turf. Nikishka has disappointed in her past three races after winning the Las Palmas Handicap at Oak Tree. Carita Tostada has run eighth in her past three appearances.

With Laffit Pincay sidelined due to a broken collarbone, Chris McCarron takes over on Bayakoa, who will carry 126 pounds, nine more than Invited Guest and Nikishka and 14 more than Carita Tostada.

“She’s been training well,” Ron McAnally said. “She just had a real good mile work (1:39 2/5 on the turf Jan. 28). We never really let her down after the Breeders’ Cup.

“She’s been in light training all along. There’s no reason to believe she’ll need a race. She should come out running.”

Three races later, Quiet American will make his American stakes debut when he takes on Hawkster and nine others in the $500,000 Charles H. Strub Stakes.

A thrice-beaten maiden when he arrived from England last summer, Quiet American hasn’t done a thing wrong since finding the dirt.

Trained by Gary Jones, the 4-year-old son of Fappiano has won a pair of allowance races, including a 6 1/2-length score over this track. He’ll go after a Grade I in receipt of 12 pounds from Hawkster, the highweight at 126.

Some have expressed concern over his effectiveness at a mile and a quarter, but neither Jones or McCarron seem worried.

Winless on the main track since the 1988 Norfolk, Hawkster hasn’t started on the surface since he finished fifth in the Belmont, following up his fifths in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Freshened since his four-race turf win streak came to an end in the Japan Cup in November, the Silver Hawk colt breezed five furlongs in :59 3/5 Thursday.

“I would prefer keeping him on the grass,” McAnally said. “Everything about him tells me he’s a turf horse. I think I probably would have given (owner Shelly Meredith) a little more argument if Sunday Silence or Prized had been in there, but this doesn’t look like one of the toughest Strub fields.”

What also could help Hawkster is the possibility of rain because he has shown he can handle mud. Russell Baze, who rode him in his easy Oak Tree Invitational victory and the Japan Cup, has the call.

Other participants are Flying Continental, who won the muddy San Fernando, Splurger, Exploding Prospect, Opening Verse, Live The Dream, Secret Slew, Presidential and Crown Collection.

Quiet American is the 3-1 favorite on Jeff Tufts’ morning line for the Strub. Hawkster is next at 7-2, then comes Splurger and Opening Verse (6-1), Flying Continental and Live The Dream (8-1), Secret Slew (10-1), Exploding Prospect (12-1), Super Ready and Crown Collection (20-1) and Presidential (30-1).