HOLLYWOOD PARK : Sunday Silence Has Distant Rooters

No one, including the owners of the 4-year-old colt, is rooting harder for Sunday Silence to win the million-dollar Hollywood Gold Cup than those in the executive suite at Arlington International Racecourse.

Months ago, the suburban Chicago track announced the $1-million Arlington Challenge Cup for Aug. 4, before Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, his archrival from last year, had made their debuts as 4-year-olds, and now Arlington officials can only hope that the two stars show up.

Easy Goer’s reputation from last year, when he won the Belmont and finished second to Sunday Silence in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Breeders’ Cup Classic, has already been tarnished by a third-place finish in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on May 28.

Fortunately for the Arlington people, Sunday Silence’s 1990 coming out turned into a party, although some thought that the 1989 horse of the year’s victory over only two other horses in the Californian at Hollywood Park on June 3 could have been more convincing.

Trainer Charlie Whittingham was completely satisfied with Sunday Silence, who hadn’t run since the Breeders’ Cup and was coming off arthroscopic knee surgery in mid-November.

Without Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, the Arlington stake becomes merely another $250,000 event on racing’s cluttered calendar. If only one of the two horses shows up, the purse will be $600,000.

By August, Criminal Type might be the horse Arlington--and other tracks--will want to capitalize on. Criminal Type has already disposed of Easy Goer in winning the Metropolitan, he won the Pimlico Special before that and trainer Wayne Lukas says that the 5-year-old son of Alydar couldn’t be more fit for his matchup against Sunday Silence on Sunday.

Criminal Type already is No. 1 in the weekly poll of turf experts conducted by Thoroughbred Racing Communications, but Russ Hudak, the linemaker at Hollywood Park, has installed Sunday Silence and his entrymate, Ruhlmann, as the 4-5 favorites in the Gold Cup. Criminal Type is the 2-1 second choice.

Seven horses are entered, and here’s the way they line up for the 1 1/4-mile race, starting at the rail, with jockeys, weights and morning-line odds:

Stylish Winner, Corey Black, 113 pounds, 15-1; Criminal Type, Jose Santos, 121, 2-1; Santangelo, Julio Garcia, 110, 30-1; Sunday Silence, Pat Valenzuela, 126, 4-5; Ruhlmann, Gary Stevens, 124, 4-5; Mi Selecto, Jerry Bailey, 114, 15-1; and Opening Verse, Angel Cordero, 119, 4-1.

Sunday Silence, Criminal Type, Ruhlmann and Opening Verse make this as good a Gold Cup field as there has been in some time.

Ruhlmann is another tough horse who expects to give Sunday Silence and Criminal Type something to run at. After leading virtually every step of the way in winning the Santa Anita and the San Bernardino handicaps this winter, Ruhlmann also led from the start in the Pimlico Special, and Criminal Type had to run the fastest 1 3/16 miles in the history of the Baltimore track to beat him by a neck.

Opening Verse went off as the favorite at Pimlico, off victories in Arkansas in the Razorback and Oaklawn handicaps, but wasn’t sharp that day and finished third, almost three lengths behind Criminal Type.

Dick Lundy, Whittingham’s former assistant, won the Gold Cup last year with Blushing John and says that Opening Verse is a better horse.

On Sunday, Opening Verse will be ridden by Cordero for the first time. Chris McCarron, who rode Opening Verse in the Oaklawn Handicap and at Pimlico, is out until the end of the year, having suffered broken legs and a broken arm in a spill on June 3 at Hollywood, only hours before he was to ride Sunday Silence in the Californian.

There are two other rich stakes on the program Sunday, the $150,000 Hollywood Park Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap, for 3-year-olds and up, at six furlongs on grass, and the $100,000 Princess for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on dirt.

In the sprint, Sam Who, who won last year in a time of 1:08, will carry high weight of 120 pounds and concede from three to nine pounds to his opponents in a field of 11. The other entrants are Weldnaas, Colway Rally, Pentelicus, Wonder Dancer, Ofanto, Somormujo, Frost Free, Round Sovereign, Major Current and Coastal Voyage. Laffit Pincay, who has won both runnings of the stake, clicking with Olympic Prospect in 1988, has the mount on Sam Who.

In the Princess, Wayne Lukas, who won the race last year with Imaginary Lady, will start Hail Atlantis and Patches. Fit To Scout, Golden Reef and A Wild Ride complete the field.

Horse Racing Notes

First place in the Gold Cup is worth $550,000 and a victory would increase Sunday Silence’s earnings to $5.3 million. He’s already in third place on the money list, behind two retirees, Alysheba with $6.6 million and John Henry with $6.5 million. . . . Charlie Whittingham is trying to saddle his ninth Gold Cup winner, and the first since Ferdinand in 1987. Whittingham started 15 horses before he won his first Gold Cup, with Ack Ack in 1971.

Hollywood Park president Marje Everett, responding to an item here Friday about about Eastern track announcer Tom Durkin, said that she was prevented from hiring Durkin a few years ago because he had an exclusive long-term contract with the Meadowlands. . . . Gary Stevens and his older brother, Scott, are both riding in the $300,000 St. Paul Derby today at Canterbury Downs. Gary is aboard the 9-5 favorite, Silver Ending, and Scott has the mount on Buchman, a Minnesota-bred who is 15-1. Only six horses are in the field.

Kenny Black, who is trying to make a comeback at Hollywood Park from drug and weight problems, says he was assaulted by five men while leaving a store in Stockton Wednesday and suffered a broken jaw in two places and a broken arm. Black, whose younger brother, Corey, also rides, was to have the jaw wired and he will be sidelined indefinitely. He told his brother that after riding three winners at Stockton, he was beaten up for no reason while his wife and children waited in their car.