SANTA ANITA : Brown Bess Remains a Golden Girl

Heading down to the track after the $212,000 Santa Barbara Handicap Saturday at Santa Anita, owner Suzanne Pashayan was pessimistic.

Three weeks after Brown Bess, her Eclipse Award winner, had finished third, beaten by a head, in the Santa Ana Handicap, Pashayan thought the 8-year-old mare had come up short in the photo again.

“I thought she had lost it,” she said. “All the way down, I kept saying she had lost it by a nose.”

Others in the Brown Bess camp assured Pashayan otherwise. They proved correct.

In becoming the oldest mare to win a stake at Santa Anita--and, perhaps, the oldest to win a Grade I anywhere--Brown Bess edged Royal Touch by a nose. Double Wedge, a 29-1 shot, was another head back in third.

Until a week ago, the Santa Barbara wasn’t in trainer Chuck Jenda’s plans. Then, Brown Bess worked a mile in 1:39 2/5 last Sunday at Golden Gate, and the decision was made to bring her south for her second start of 1990.

The high weight at 123 pounds, Brown Bess scored her 16th victory in 32 starts and increased her earnings to more than $1.2 million. She covered 1 1/4 miles in 1:58 2/5, her 13th victory in 21 turf races.

Royal Touch, the 8-5 second choice, joined the 7-10 favorite with about three furlongs to run, and they were never separated by more than a half-length thereafter.

“That was scary,” Jenda said. “It was too close to call. They were hanging up some pretty fast fractions, and I didn’t know how well she’d finish off that pace. They went a mile in 1:34 and that’s fast on any surface.

“The only reason we’re here is that she’s done well since her last race. She trained brilliantly, too good to pass this up.

“We’ll definitely give her some time off now. She’ll get at least a month. There are a couple of races up north. The Yerba Buena (1 3/8 miles) is about six weeks from now, so the timing would be just about right. There’s also the Golden Gate Handicap (in which she would go against males).”

Not even jockey Jack Kaenel was sure whether Brown Bess had won or lost.

“I had no idea,” Kaenel said. “I was talking to Russell Baze (Royal Touch’s rider), and neither one of us had a strong opinion on who had won.

“She improved quite a bit off her last race. It was a game effort last time, but she just got flat tired. She went an eighth farther, held on better and only had three weeks since her last race.

“She never gives up. She gives you all she has all the time. She’s just a pleasant horse to ride.”

Royal Touch has to qualify as one of the meeting’s unluckiest performers. She was beaten by a head by the now-retired Annoconnor in the Santa Ana after having some trouble, then she missed by inches Saturday.

“She hit the wire on the wrong part of her stride,” Baze said. “We were trading the lead with every head bob. Otherwise, she had a perfect trip.”

Winless since March 10 of last year, Double Wedge was getting 12 pounds from the winner and 10 from Royal Touch.

“He (trainer Bobby Frankel) told me to let her break and sit close to the pace,” said jockey Robbie Davis. “We were sitting right there. (Brown Bess and Royal Touch) moved down the backside and I had nowhere to go. I just made one move with her and she came running.”

Estrealla Fuega was fourth, nearly three lengths behind Double Wedge, then came Isabella Ra, who showed the way through fractions of :22 2/5, :45 and 1:10.

Horse Racing Notes

Even when the result of the photo was posted, Suzanne Pashayan still wasn’t sure Brown Bess was the winner. “Even the numbers came up on the board, I was trying to make something else out of the ‘2,’ ” she said. . . . There was a minus show pool in the Santa Barbara of $1,274.99. . . . The Bill Spawr-Pat Valenzuela combination continued to sizzle Saturday when Sperry won the fifth race. Spawr has won with 20 of 60 starters at the meeting.

At the moment, seven 3-year-olds are probable for the Santa Anita Derby Saturday, led by the unbeaten Mister Frisky. Those scheduled to oppose him in the 1 1/8-mile race are Real Cash, Music Prospector, Warcraft, Video Ranger, Assyrian Pirate and Balla Cove. . . . Santa Anita Handicap winner Ruhlmann and runner-up Criminal Type will meet again today in the $420,800 San Bernardino Handicap at a 1 1/8 miles on the main track. Besides Ruhlmann, trainer Charlie Whittingham will also be represented by Lively One and Payant. Annual Date and Stylish Winner complete the field for the Grade II event.