HOLLYWOOD PARK : Sunday Silence Bound to Improve

There were a lot of disappointed people after Sunday Silence’s 1990 debut three weeks ago.

The 1989 horse of the year won for the ninth time in 13 outings, but wasn’t impressive doing so--beating Stylish Winner by three-quarters of a length in a three-horse race.

That margin has led some to believe that Sunday Silence is vulnerable in today’s Hollywood Gold Cup. The field will include Santa Anita Handicap winner Ruhlmann and Pimlico Special and Metropolitan Mile winner Criminal Type.

However, there was no need for trainer Charlie Whittingham to have Sunday Silence cranked up for the Californian. He figures to be primed today with $1 million on the line. Plus, he is more effective when he has a target to run at, and he definitely will not be in front today.

Whittingham’s other entrant, Ruhlmann, has been training superbly and the 5-year-old son of Mr. Leader has shown a fondness for Hollywood Park. In his most recent local try, he won the Native Diver Handicap last December, holding off stablemate Lively One.

After beating Easy Goer and Housebuster in the Met Mile, a victory for the late-blooming Criminal Type would make him the early leader for horse of the year honors. In eight starts this year, he has five victories and two seconds and has earned nearly $1.58 million.

Opening Verse, freshened since failing as the 3-2 favorite in the Pimlico Special, has worked well for trainer Richard Lundy. Lundy won the Gold Cup a year ago with Blushing John, and Opening Verse beat Criminal Type decisively in the Oaklawn Handicap. Angel Cordero will ride Opening Verse, who will carry seven pounds less than Sunday Silence, five less than Ruhlmann and two less than Criminal Type.

The best Mi Selecto, Stylish Winner and Santangelo can realistically expect today is $25,000, which is fifth money.

Trainer Wayne Lukas will be well-represented in the first of the day’s two other stakes.

He will have three--Hail Atlantis, Patches and A Wild Ride--of the five entrants in the $106,500 Princess Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

Hail Atlantis, a 3-year-old daughter of Seattle Slew, won three races in a row at Santa Anita, including a seven-length romp in the Oaks. But she finished seventh and eighth in Oaklawn Park’s Fantasy and Pimlico’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, respectively.

Lukas thinks the return home will help Hail Atlantis, who is the 122-pound highweight in the Princess.

“I don’t think she’s one of those fillies who wants to change stalls every two weeks,” he said. “She’s a little bit hyper and she might not be the type who wants to ship around.”

Patches’ three-race winning streak ended in the Railbird Stakes 15 days ago. Despite bleeding she finished second, three-quarters of a length behind Forest Fealty. Patches will be running with the diuretic Lasix for the first time today.

The rest of the field is composed of A Wild Ride, who hasn’t won since the Junior Miss Stakes at Del Mar in August, Golden Reef and Fit To Scout.

A race later, Sam Who will try to defend his title in the $156,600 Hollywood Park Budweiser Breeders’ Cup at six furlongs on the turf. Third in his first start of 1990 in the Los Angeles Handicap, Sam Who will face Coastal Voyage, Weldnaas, Frost Free, Colway Rally and six others.

Things didn’t go well for Ron McAnally in Minnesota, but the news was good at home.

His Silver Ending, the 4-5 favorite in the St. Paul Derby at Canterbury Downs, was third in the field of six, but Paper Princess picked up the second stakes victory in two days for the stable at Hollywood Park. Tight Spot went wire to wire in the Star Dust Friday night.

The 9-5 second choice in the $108,600 Valkyr Handicap, Paper Princess ran down pacesetter Princess Royalty in the final yards to win for the sixth time in 17 starts.

Ridden by Laffit Pincay, the 4-year-old roan daughter of Flying Paster won by a neck in 1:08 2/5 for the six furlongs on turf. This was her fourth victory in nine starts on the grass; she has only been off the board once.

Most effective sprinting, the California-bred hadn’t been out since winning the Mt. Wilson Stakes at Santa Anita April 20, but she worked five furlongs in 58 4/5 two weeks ago to signal her readiness.

“She’s a nice filly, a very nice filly,” said Eduardo Inda, McAnally’s assistant. “I mean, one of the top fillies we have in the barn.

“She’s run very well the last couple of races and she seems to really be coming around now.”

Pincay wasn’t so sure Paper Princess was going to be along in time Saturday.

“That horse in front (Princess Royalty) wasn’t stopping at all,” he said. “For a while, I didn’t think I was going to catch her. I wasn’t worried about Survive (the 6-5 favorite) because I saw her behind me.

“My main concern was the filly in front. I’ve never been on this filly, but I’ve seen her and I knew she would be tough to beat.”

A $32,000 claim by Jerry Fanning out of a 16-length maiden victory last December, Princess Royalty couldn’t quite last in her first try on turf, but was nearly two lengths better than Survive, who closed well after being far back early. Lady Lavina was fourth, then came Yugo Marie and Lady Kite.

Horse Racing Notes

The day after the first of four Friday night programs at Hollywood Park, the crowd was 19,295, down about 3,000 from the previous Saturday. The average for the first eight Saturdays of the meeting had been 25,226, but track officials noted that there was no simulcast race Saturday, as there had been on six previous Saturdays, that it was the day before the Gold Cup and that the feature race wasn’t particularly attractive. The attendance on the corresponding Saturday in 1989 was 21,529.

Favorites won five of the six Pick Six races Saturday, so it wasn’t surprising that the Pick Six paid a record low $109.80. The previous low at Hollywood Park was $126 on Dec. 15, 1985. . . . Julio Garcia won four times to move within one of Pat Valenzuela in the jockeys’ race. He swept the double on Just Never Mind and Official, then won the fifth with Silent ‘N Nasty and the seventh aboard Fields Of Gold. He now has 42 winners to 43 for Valenzuela, who took the fourth on Consulate, a 2-year-old filly who was impressive in her debut for Wayne Lukas.

Heavily favored River Master, in his first race on Lasix, held off Elegant Bargain, the longest shot in the five-horse field, to win the $61,250 Khaled Handicap at Hollywood Park.. . . Trainer Bob Baffert had a big Saturday. He saddled Broadway’s Top Gun to victory in the $100,000 Ladbroke Futurity at Golden Gate Fields and at Hollywood Park, he won with Just Never Mind and Thirty Slews.