HOLLYWOOD PARK : Garcia Does Better Than Old Friend

Julio Garcia fared a lot better Saturday at Hollywood Park than his old friend did in Kentucky.

Mister Frisky’s rider for 10 of his 13 victories in Puerto Rico, Garcia won the second race aboard Syrian Winter, a maiden filly trained, ironically by Laz Barrera, then returned to score a $28.60 victory on Prospectors Gamble in the $110,200 Triple Bend Handicap.

John Sadler looked to have a stranglehold on the seven-furlong Triple Bend with his duo of Olympic Prospect and Frost Free. The former, who had won six of his 10 previous starts at Inglewood, was a 7-10 favorite.

A month after the best effort of his life, Olympic Prospect went flat. Although he had a fast half-mile (21 2/5 and 43 3/5), the Northern Jove gelding appeared to be going easily under David Flores.

However, he surrendered without a struggle in the final eighth of a mile and wound up fifth. Frost Free, who is partial to Santa Anita, was fourth.

Fourth down the backside, Prospectors Gamble got the lead in midstretch and beat Raise A Stanza by nearly two lengths in 1:21 2/5.

Raise A Stanza, the 4-1 second choice, was two lengths better than Hot Operator.

Trainer Wallace Dollase thought Itsallgreektome might be short for the $111,050 Spotlight Breeders’ Cup Handicap, which was run two races before the Triple Bend.

Jockey Corey Nakatani didn’t think the 3-year-old son of Sovereign Dancer had much chance against Warcraft, Somethingdifferent and six others in the mile turf race.

Itsallgreektome proved both of them wrong.

Making his grass debut and in his first start as a gelding--a change not listed in either the Daily Racing Form or the track’s official program, although it was reported by Dollase to the proper people--Itsallgreektome, a 31-1 shot, held off Warcraft to win by a nose in 1:34 2/5.

“He ran to his work (48 2/5 on the turf Thursday morning), but actually I thought he might come up a little short,” Dollase said. “He was very studdish and we castrated him after his last race (March 4). It made a big difference.”

Warcraft, the 8-5 favorite, didn’t have the best of trips in his first grass outing.

“He ran well, but he ran spotty,” trainer Charlie Whittingham said. “I don’t know about the Preakness. I’ll think about it.”

If Unbridled was your pick in the Kentucky Derby, Hollywood Park was the place to be Saturday.

The 10-1 fourth choice at Churchill Downs, Unbridled paid $44 at Inglewood. The $2 exacta coupling him with Summer Squall paid $145.20 locally, compared to $65.80 in Kentucky.

The $930,617 handled at Hollywood Park was a record for a $2 exacta pool. Combined, Hollywood Park and the 10 intertrack locations handled $2,597,453 on the race and this was also a record for a single race.