DEL MAR : Stevens Is Certain Iroquois Park Can Improve on De Anza Victory

Gary Stevens thinks the best is yet to come for Iroquois Park.

It’s not that the 2-year-old son of Chief’s Crown is doing badly now. He won for the second time in three starts Wednesday, going virtually wire to wire in the $81,375 De Anza Stakes.

It’s just that Stevens, his jockey in both of those victories, believes there’s a lot of room for improvement.

“He did what he did today just off pure ability,” Stevens said after the 6-5 favorite defeated 13-1 shot Bucking Bird by nearly three lengths in a solid 1:09 1/5 for the six furlongs.

“He felt like he wasn’t running at all. He was running at about 85% of what he’s capable. He never laid his body down. He was running in spots with me.”

Even so, the roan was timed in :44 2/5 for the half mile and has definitely progressed since his first start, a 3 1/2-length victory on June 24 at Hollywood Park. The addition of blinkers was also a help.

“The blinkers made him pay attention in the gate,” Stevens said. “He was pretty focused the first eighth of a mile. I didn’t want to get him started too early. At the three-eighths pole, I shook him up a little, and at the eighth pole, I shook him up hard.”

With Wayne Lukas at Saratoga, assistant trainer Randy Bradshaw saddled the winner in a 2-year-old stake for the second consecutive Wednesday. Last week, Cuddles romped in the Junior Miss Stakes.

“The key with this colt was the blinkers and getting him out of the gate,” Bradshaw said. “He absolutely lost all chance at the start in that last one (the Hollywood Juvenile on July 21). He got away poorly, then got dirt in his face and never did much running.

“But he trained well down here when we added the blinkers, and we expected he’d run better with them. He’s a nice colt and is bred to go on. I expect we’ll be going right through the 2-year-old series here with him (in the Balboa Stakes on Aug. 22 and the Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 12).”

Bucking Bird, a maiden, closed well while wide and defeated Xray, the 5-2 second choice, by a half-length to finish second. “I’ll tell you what--they’ll have to deal with him in the (one-mile) Futurity,” Kent Desormeaux said of Bucking Bird. “This isn’t his game at all, and he made up 10 lengths off a :44 2/5 half.”

Xray, who was impressive while winning his debut on July 25, made a move at the winner around the turn, then tired a bit.

“He ran well,” Pat Valenzuela said. “He got stuck on the inside. If he would have had an outside post, he would have run a little better. He went and kicked it in when I asked him, but Gary’s horse kept running.”

Got to Fly was fourth; then came Im a Nickel, Mr. Melair, Le Farouche and Dean. Southern Justice, who would have been one of the favorites in the De Anza, was scratched after coming down with a 102-degree fever two days earlier.

A field of 10 seems likely for Sunday’s $250,000 Eddie Read Handicap, the first Grade I stake of the meeting.

With Steinlen and Prized absent, the marquee names in the 1 1/8-mile turf race will be Golden Pheasant and Classic Fame.

Owned by Bruce McNall’s Summa Stable and Wayne Gretzky, Golden Pheasant won his first two starts in the United States, then finished fourth at even-money in the Hollywood Turf Handicap, his last outing, on May 28. Gary Stevens will ride the roan son of Caro for the first time.

Classic Fame was second to Golden Pheasant in the John Henry Handicap, then returned to upset Steinlen in the American Handicap on July 4. Eddie Delahoussaye will be aboard the 4-year-old Nijinsky II colt, who will carry 119 pounds, three less than Golden Pheasant.

Other probable starters are Notorious Pleasure, Saratoga Passage (the defending champion), Colway Rally, Shotiche, Nediym, Companion, Fly Till Dawn and Soft Machine.

The main track played a lot more fairly Wednesday after there had been a distinct outside bias during the first two weeks of the meeting.

Some work had been done on the track Tuesday, and speed horses on the inside, who had been faring poorly through the first 12 days, ran well Wednesday. Cracksman went wire-to-wire in the first race; Dr. Hyde, who was on the inside, outbattled longshot Gringo Greg to win the second; Diamondback Dragon broke his maiden in the fourth race from the rail, and Heartsaflying, racing along the rail the whole way, put away It’s All Relative after some fast fractions in the seventh.

Horse Racing Notes

A bruised foot will keep Mohamed Abdu out of the Eddie Read Handicap. . . . Pat Valenzuela and Kent Desormeaux will be at Arlington Park Saturday. The former will ride Pleasant Variety, the latter Ten Keys in the Arlington Handicap. . . . Alex Solis will be at Renton, Wash., Sunday to ride the vastly improved Sports View in the Longacres Derby.

Laffit Pincay won three times Wednesday with Dr. Hyde, Pro for Sure and Hoku, and Gary Stevens doubled with Iroquois Park and Diamondback Dragon, the latter completing a consecutive double for trainer Ron Ellis. Ellis also won the third race with Serena Blake and now has five victories, tying him with Craig Lewis, Charlie Whittingham, Brian Mayberry, Jerry Fanning and Wayne Lukas for the lead in the trainers’ standings.