SANTA ANITA : Some Giants of Turf to Meet Today

Without question, the $315,000 San Luis Rey Stakes today at Santa Anita is one of the more attractive races of the year.

The prelude to the season-ending San Juan Capistrano attracted only six entrants, but three of them are Prized, Frankly Perfect and Hawkster. Each boasts outstanding credentials on the turf, and a fourth, El Senor, also is no slouch. The eastern-based 6-year-old has earned almost $1.1 million.

Best known for his upset of Sunday Silence in last summer’s Swaps Stakes, Prized has earned recognition as one of the the nation’s best grass performers.

He made his debut on the surface in the Breeders’ Cup Turf and came through with a narrow decision over Sierra Roberta, Star Lift and 11 others at Gulfstream Park.

Given a vacation after that huge payday, the 4-year-old Kris S. colt returned in the Arcadia Handicap March 4 against Breeders’ Cup Mile and Eclipse Award winner Steinlen.

Dismissed by a lot of serious handicappers who felt a mile was too short for him, Prized trailed with less than three furlongs to run, then, helped by the sizzling pace in front of him, took off and won going away with Steinlen--who bled--well beaten.

Three weeks later, Prized gets the Breeders’ Cup Turf distance--1 1/2 miles--and it is apparent, despite his latest success, the more furlongs the better for trainer Neil Drysdale’s colt.

Frankly Perfect, owned by Kings’ owner Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky, is the defending San Luis Rey champion, having defeated heavily favored Great Communicator a year ago.

Since then, the 5-year-old son of Perrault has victories in the Golden Gate Handicap, the Hollywood Turf Cup, and on Feb. 19 he was much the best in winning the San Luis Obispo Handicap. Frankly Perfect was also beaten by a nose in the Sunset Handicap at Hollywood Park, and he was runner-up to Alwuhush in the Carleton F. Burke at Oak Tree, so consistency hasn’t been a problem for trainer Charlie Whittingham’s horse.

However, neither Prized nor Frankly Perfect have come close to duplicating the effort Hawkster turned in on Oct. 14 in winning the Oak Tree Invitational.

In improving his record, at the time, to 4-0 on the turf, the Silver Hawk colt opened up on his eight rivals from the start, lengthened his margin on the backstretch while setting blazing fractions and cruised home by four lengths in a world-record 2:22 4/5 for 1 1/2 miles.

However, Hawkster hasn’t seen the Santa Anita grass since. After returning from a fifth-place finish in the Japan Cup, he made two starts on the dirt, even though it’s obvious he’s nowhere near the same horse on that surface. He hasn’t won on the dirt since the 1988 Norfolk.

Helped by the off track, Hawkster ran third in the Charles H. Strub, then beat only stablemate Bayakoa in the Santa Anita Handicap, finishing 22 lengths behind Ruhlmann.

Take out those two efforts and most would probably consider him the horse to beat today. Instead, the question is whether Hawkster will be able to bounce back or if those two races took their toll.

Delegant and Just As Lucky are the other San Luis Rey entrants, but it’s virtually impossible to give them serious consideration in a race in which everyone is carrying 126 pounds. Delegant was getting eight pounds from Frankly Perfect when he was second at 38-1 in the San Luis Obispo. Just As Lucky got 10 pounds and was third.

Making her first start since finishing ninth in the San Gorgonio Handicap in early January, Stylish Star rallied to win an eventful $80,850 Las Cienegas Handicap Saturday at Santa Anita.

There was a lengthy stewards’ inquiry involving the first four finishers in the six-horse field, resulting in the disqualification of Stormy But Valid, who originally finished second. She was placed fifth, behind Sexy Slew, who was impeded badly nearing the sixteenth pole.

The stewards ruled that Stormy But Valid, ridden by Gary Stevens, came out, albeit slightly, triggering the trouble, which also involved Hot Novel--who was moved up to second--and Stylish Star.

“There was contact,” said Chris McCarron, who was aboard the winner, the 9-2 fourth choice. “The bumping went all the way out to me. I was turned in a little bit because another horse hit me in the rear.

“She was best. I’ve been on her during her last three works, and she had been working very well.”

Stylish Star, winner of the Del Mar Oaks and a division of Hollywood Park’s Dahlia Handicap, had never won a sprint before Saturday. At the end, her margin was a little more than a length in 1:13 for about 6 1/2-furlongs on the turf.

“Once she ran badly in the San Gorgonio, it made us realize she’d been running steadily from May to January,” trainer Dan Hendricks said. “She just needed a rest. We gave her a month and this fit perfectly into the schedule.

“She’s been so good to me. As long as the inquiry took, it worried me. It looked like the other horses came out and bumped us. That’s what saved us because we tightened it up a bit. When a horse gets hit like that, it naturally drops in toward the horse that bumped it.”

Hot Novel, who had just won an allowance race over the course, didn’t have clear sailing and never really got her best chance. “I got bothered a lot,” said Eddie Delahoussaye. “I got it coming out of the gate, down the hill and in the stretch. I just couldn’t go anywhere. I was trapped.”

Horse Racing Notes

Trainer Sandy Shulman has been fined $300 by the stewards for a medication violation. Fill A Fair Pocket, who was unplaced in the ninth race March 15, had an excess level of Butazolidin . . . Santa Anita will spend about $1.8 million to renovate the hillside part of its turf course when the meeting ends April 23. Last year, the infield portion of the course was redone at a cost of $3.1 million.

Kent Desormeaux scored a consecutive triple Saturday with Kaboi in the fifth, favored Toby Jug in the sixth and 12-1 outsider Peppy’s Kingdom in the seventh. Peppy’s Kingdom’s victory gave trainer Bob Hess three consecutive victories in the seventh race. He won Thursday’s seventh with Sumthing Rare and came back Friday with Twombly. Hess also took the ninth Saturday with Buckland’s Halo. . . . Gary Stevens and Chris McCarron each had two winners Saturday.