HOLLYWOOD PARK : After Lukas’ Stake Sweep in N.Y., Steinlen Provides Icing in the West

Wayne Lukas’ barn, which swept the three stakes at Belmont Park during the weekend, kept right on winning Monday at Hollywood Park as Steinlen caught Hawkster in the stretch to win the $500,000 Hollywood Turf Handicap by a neck before a crowd of 30,091.

“This ranks right up there with the Breeders’ Cup,” Lukas said, referring to the day at Churchill Downs in 1988 when he saddled horses that won three of the seven million-dollar races.

Stella Madrid won the Acorn at Belmont Saturday, Profit Key won Sunday’s Peter Pan there and earlier Monday Criminal Type beat Easy Goer and Housebuster in the Metropolitan Mile Handicap. Jeff Lukas, Wayne’s son and No. 1 assistant, saddled the three winners in New York.

Of the four victories, only Profit Key’s was expected. Stella Madrid was considered the lesser half of an entry with stablemate Seaside Attraction, who finished third; Criminal Type paid $18.80; and Steinlen, even though he was last year’s national male grass champion, was the third betting choice in a six-horse field at Hollywood and paid $9.60.

Golden Pheasant, who had won both of his American starts since arriving from Europe, went off the even-money favorite and finished a sluggish fourth, beaten by almost six lengths. Hawkster, the second choice at 5-2, set the pace as expected and was 3 1/2 lengths ahead at the top of the stretch. But he and Gary Stevens were worn down by Steinlen and Laffit Pincay in the last 60 yards.

Hawkster finished 5 1/2 lengths in front of Santangelo, the Argentine-bred who is still winless in eight American races. Still, Santangelo, the longest price on the board at 30-1, earned $75,000 for finishing third. Steinlen’s purse was $275,000 and Hawkster earned $100,000.

Pincay, 43, became the first jockey to win $150 million in purses. Angel Cordero is next on the list with a total of more than $148 million.

Pincay got the chance to ride Steinlen because Jose Santos, who is usually astride the 7-year-old son of Habitat and Southern Seas, stayed in New York to ride Criminal Type.

“This is one of the biggest thrills, especially with a win on Steinlen,” Pincay said. “It was something I was looking forward to the whole week. It was nice to do it this way.”

The Turf Handicap was Pincay’s 7,385th victory, and No. 7,386 came about 30 minutes later when he rode another Lukas horse, Le Voyageur, in the day’s last race. Pincay, who had three winners for the day, now has a purse total of $150,281,039.

On a soft turf course that was labeled good because of overnight rain, Hawkster sprinted to a five-length lead after a half-mile, setting moderate fractions of 48 3/5 and 1:13 1/5 for three-quarters of a mile. The winning time was 2:03.

“The soft turf probably wasn’t to my horse’s advantage,” said Ron McAnally, who trains Hawkster. “But at the head of the stretch, I still thought he was going to get it.”

McAnally had heard last week that Lukas might not run Steinlen. “I was rooting that he wouldn’t run,” McAnally said. “Because I knew he was the one to beat.”

Although Steinlen won the Arlington Million last year at 1 1/4 miles, he ran at shorter distances the rest of the year, clinching the grass title by winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Gulfstream Park.

“A mile and a quarter is certainly within his grasp,” Lukas said. “In fact, I think he can run even farther than that.”

Steinlen has won 19 of 39 starts and Monday’s victory increased his purses to $2.7 million. Daniel Wildenstein’s horse began this year with a seventh-place finish in the Arcadia Handicap at Santa Anita, where he won the El Rincon Handicap before finishing third, two lengths behind the victorious Golden Pheasant in the John Henry Handicap at Hollywood May 13. Steinlen carried six more pounds than Golden Pheasant that day; Monday, Steinlen carried 124 pounds and Hawkster and Golden Pheasant carried 122.

“I don’t think the soft course had anything to do with the way my horse ran,” said Chris McCarron, who was aboard Golden Pheasant. “Because he breezed over at Santa Anita on a course much like this one, and did all right.”

Golden Pheasant was third on the far turn, but couldn’t make up any ground.

“We had no excuse,” McCarron said. “He just didn’t kick in like he needed to. I gave him about three pumps at the head of the lane, and I knew I was in trouble.”

Lukas’ early goal for Steinlen this year is another crack at the Arlington Million, and Lukas said he would run at least twice before then.

Meantime, Lukas will bring Criminal Type back to California to run in the Hollywood Gold Cup June 24.

“That’s a million-dollar race,” Lukas said. “As good as that horse is now, that’s the place where you want him to be.”

Million-dollar races are not new to Criminal Type, who won the Pimlico Special, another seven-figure stake, in Maryland earlier this month.

Horse Racing Notes

Wayne Lukas said that his barn earned $2 million in purses for May. . . . For the year, Lukas has won more than $5 million, about twice the total of Charlie Whittingham, second in the national trainer standings. . . . Laffit Pincay won the Hollywood Turf Handicap for the fifth time, breaking a tie for the record with Bill Shoemaker. Pincay won the stake three consecutive times--with Exploded, Erins Isle and John Henry--starting in 1981. His other winner was Life Cycle in 1973. . . . The only horse older than Steinlen to win the stake was John Henry, who was a 9-year-old when he won in 1984.

One of the few horses who will run against Sunday Silence in the Californian next Sunday is Charlatan III, who hasn’t won since 1988. . . . Sunny Blossom won Monday’s Oakland Handicap at Golden Gate Fields by nine lengths, running six furlongs in 1:08 4/5. . . . A $60,000 race at Hollywood Park Monday was won by Annual Date, who had been winless since September.