Housebuster Passes Up Safely Kept

Chalk up one for Safely Kept.

She has yet to run against Housebuster, the nation’s most talked-about sprinter, but apparently she already has scared him away.

The first meeting between the nation’s two quickest horses at six furlongs could have come today in the inaugural running of the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash.

The race is being televised live by ABC-TV and carries a $350,000 purse, pretty hefty by sprint standards.

The match would have made the first running of the race that honors Maryland’s late racing czar quite special.

But, either because his owners are afraid to face the filly right now or are prepping the colt for a fall campaign in distance races, Housebuster is opting for a softer spot (the $75,000 King’s Bishop Stakes) at Saratoga today with a paltrier purse.

It is especially ironic because most everybody that follows racing -- including Craig Perret, Safely Kept’s jockey -- feels Housebuster is the better horse.

Perret, who has ridden Safely Kept to victory in eight of her last nine starts, chose to ride Housebuster, even in a lesser race.

“I don’t hold it against him,” Alan Goldberg, the laid-back trainer of Safely Kept, said. “I’ll certainly ride him again. He just feels he’s chosen the best horse. No doubt he’ll be in line to get a breeding right to Housebuster when he’s retired to stud. That’s something you don’t get with a filly, and something that is a lucrative incentive. I did hear through him, though, that Housebuster’s people didn’t want to take on ‘the filly’ right now.”

Only six horses were entered to face Safely Kept, who grabbed the nation’s sprint title away from the colts last year.

She’s unbeaten in five carefully chosen races this year and has pushed her career earnings over $1 million. She’ll be ridden for the first time by Chris Antley. “He’s never even seen her before,” Goldberg said.

But her opposition Saturday is not exactly stellar. There are two horses with legitimate chances to upset. One is Sunny Blossom, a California speed horse that was good enough to set a track record on the super fast track at Santa Anita (six furlongs in 1 minute 7 1-5 seconds) last winter. He then came East and beat New York’s top sprinters in the Toboggan Handicap in March.

But, as one California handicapper said, “He’s a bit in-and-out.” Translated that means he can turn in a spectacular effort one time and then toss in a poor one the next.

“In his last start, he went off at 3-5 (odds) and spit out the bit pretty badly after a half mile,” the handicapper said. “He’s a nice sprinter, but we don’t really have a real superstar in our sprint ranks right now. He and horses like Sensatioanl Star, Frost Free, Olympic Prospect (who is currently sidelined and who Safely Kept buried in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last fall) and Prospector’s Gamble have all taken turns beating each other.”

“He’ll get the lead,” Goldberg predicted, “then we’ll have to catch him.”

Safely Kept, who drew the No. 5 position to the inside of Sunny Blossom, has enough early zip to keep close enough to him. She should keep him parked on the outside and at a disadvantage. Even if he breaks super sharp, the California speedball will have to be used early to break away from Safely Kept and open up on her. That should make him vulnerable in Pimlico’s long stretch.

The other logical scenario pits Safely Kept and Sunny Blossom in a speed duel, setting the race up for an electric late bid from Sewickley, the other major contender.

Sewickley, whose late rally usually leaves him with too much to do in the stretch, figures to be outrun by the top pair. He has yet to win a race this year, although he’s run in top company and has not been badly beaten.