HOLLYWOOD PARK : Grand Canyon, 3, Is Destroyed

Grand Canyon, arguably the nation’s best 2-year-old last year, was destroyed Saturday at the Del Rayo training center in Rancho Santa Fe.

Owned by trainer Wayne Lukas and Overbrook Farm, the 3-year-old son of Fappiano suffered a ruptured a blood vessel in his right foreleg earlier this week and laminitis developed. Laminitis is an inflammation on the inside wall of the hoof, which impedes circulation and is extremely painful. Triple Crown winner Secretariat was destroyed last autumn because he suffered from laminitis.

“The veterinary team (Dr. James Becht, Dr. Lynn Richardson and consultant Dr. Robert Copelan) were optimistic, but last night, (Grand Canyon) took a turn for the worse,” Lukas said. “By this afternoon, he couldn’t put weight on either foot. It’s a real shock.”

A winner of four of his eight starts last year, Grand Canyon’s last race was his best. He won the Hollywood Futurity Dec. 17 by 6 1/2 lengths and completed the mile in 1:33, the fastest mile run by a 2-year-old in North America.

An $825,000 yearling purchase, Grand Canyon finished 1989 with $1,019,540 in earnings, the second-highest total for a 2-year-old in North American history. Second to Rhythm in the Eclipse Award balloting, he was considered by many the early favorite for the 1990 Kentucky Derby.

A tendon injury quashed those plans, but the colt, who finished worse than second only once, was progressing toward a comeback, according to Lukas.

“He was galloping two miles every day,” said the trainer, who owned 25% of Grand Canyon, a portion that wasn’t insured. Overbrook Farm’s William T. Young had insurance for his 75% share.

“I was thinking about putting two or three works into him here, then taking him down to Del Mar,” Lukas said. “We were rolling along. One of the really big things we were looking forward to in the fall was getting him, Open Mind and Houston back along with everything else we have.”

Helped by the scratch of Exploding Prospect and a track that seemed to favor front-runners all afternoon, Prospectors Gamble won the $161,700 Bel Air Handicap at Hollywood Park.

The victory in Grade II race capped a profitable meeting for the 5-year-old Crafty Prospector horse. Earlier, owners Jan, Mace and Samantha Siegel’s roan had won the Triple Bend and was second in the Los Angeles Handicap.

Ridden by Julio Garcia, Prospectors Gamble, the 2-1 second choice who raced coupled with Exemplary Leader, relaxed well early, drew off around the turn en route to a 1:08 4/5 six-furlong clocking and had enough left to beat 9-1 shot Music Prospector by a length in 1:34 1/5 for the mile. A race earlier, Sensational Star, who was running against high-priced claimers, won in the same time.

This was the eighth victory in 34 starts for Prospectors Gamble, and he seems to get along with Garcia. They have two victories and a second in three starts.

“There didn’t seem to be any speed in this race and my horse got to the lead early,” Garcia said. “He was just galloping on the lead and he was doing it easy.

“The horse is just good right now and (trainer) Mr. (Brian) Mayberry brought him into this race in very good shape. The horse is sharp and he runs well fresh.”

Mayberry now has 17 victories, five of them in stakes, at the Hollywood meet.

“This jock really rides him well,” Mayberry said of Garcia. “He got him to rate real nice and kind. Fortunately, he had enough left to stave off the late charge. I give a lot of credit to this kid. He rode him very, very well.

“This is kind of a small horse and Julio is a small rider. They seem to fit. We’ll probably take the horse to Saratoga next and let those New Yorkers see some California speed.”

Timeless Answer, who had won his previous two starts and was the 8-5 favorite Saturday, was never a factor. He was far back early and never threatened, beating only Hot Operator in the field of seven.

Horse Racing Notes

The average on-track attendance for the four Friday night programs at Hollywood Park was 23,727, compared to an average of 12,287 for the previous eight Friday afternoon cards. The average on-track handle for the Friday nights was $5,829,553 compared to $3,415,670 for Friday afternoons.

Trebizond, who won Friday night’s eighth race by 7 1/2 lengths, completed the mile in 1:33 3/5, the fastest time of the meeting at the distance. A $40,000 claim by trainer Robert Marshall, the 4-year-old Lypheor gelding hadn’t won since June 22, 1989, but he has a victory, two seconds and two thirds in five starts for his new stable. Last month, Solar Launch, an $80,000 Marshall claim, equaled the track record for 6 1/2 furlongs when he won in 1:14 4/5.

There was one perfect ticket in the Pick Six Saturday and it was worth $275,917.40.