OAK TREE : A Kinder, Gentler In Excess Returns to Run for Trainer Jackson in the Volante Handicap

This could be a big weekend for trainer Bruce Jackson.

Jackson will be at Keeneland today to saddle Native Twine in the $100,000 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup, then he will go to Laurel to saddle Aksar in Sunday’s $750,000 Washington D.C. International. A few hours later, Jack Carava will act as Jackson’s deputy when In Excess tries for his second straight victory in the $111,300 Volante Handicap at Santa Anita’s Oak Tree meeting.

After In Excess’ contribution to the rodeo that was the Del Mar Derby--he was rank and hard to handle coming down the chute--the horse was shipped to Louisiana last month and won the Temperence Hill Handicap by eight lengths.

Although the competition wasn’t much, Gary Stevens was impressed by the Siberian Express colt’s performance.

“Bruce has done a good job getting him to relax,” Stevens said. “I’ve worked him three times since his last race (on Sept. 23), and he’s done everything I wanted him to do.

“I was impressed with how he settled for me (in Louisiana). He was very kind to rate. I thought we’d be farther back, but he settled into second and just galloped around. I never did ask him to run until the last 50 yards, and he had already opened up six lengths on them. He seems real confident about himself now.”

In Excess, owned by Jack Munari, is one of three sophomores assigned 117 pounds in Sunday’s Volante, at 1 1/8 miles on the turf. The others are Mehmetori, who has chased older horses in his last two starts, and Pro for Sure, a recent allowance winner over the Santa Anita grass.

The 118-pound highweight is Warcraft, still seeking his first stakes success. Having promised more than he’s delivered so far, Warcraft may be ready to live up to all the hype. The Ack Ack colt ran away from a lesser field on the main track Oct. 7, but he is winless on the turf. He has two seconds in three previous appearances.

The other entrants are Predecessor and Barton Dene, who finished 2-3 behind Pro for Sure 12 days ago; Balla Cove; Dachi’s Folly, winner of the Pomona Derby, and Green’s Leader.

Nine 3-year-old fillies are scheduled to run today in the $100,000 Linda Vista Breeders’ Cup Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

A Wild Ride is the most accomplished entrant, having won the Princess earlier this year at Hollywood Park, and she has won $183,104 with three victories in 13 starts. She’ll be trying to reverse what has been a brutal Oak Tree meeting for Wayne Lukas. America’s leading trainer has saddled 39 consecutive losers through the first 14 days.

Successful in half of her 10 outings in Northern California, Variety Spice will make her Southland debut in the Linda Vista. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and due to be ridden by Chris McCarron, the Silveyville filly has three stakes victories and has won her last two dirt starts.

The rest of the field: Orlanova, an impressive winner on the turf Oct. 3; Lifthigh the Cross, who beat lesser horses by 5 1/2 lengths in her last appearance; Mahaska, who will try two turns for the first time after winning her last three starts at three different tracks; Mama Simba, who has won two in a row for trainer Richard Mandella; Nasers Pride; Dead Heat, and Vaguely Charming.

Don’t look for any of the 12 finishers in Friday’s $100,000 Very Subtle Sales Stakes at Santa Anita to be entered in the 1991 Kentucky Oaks or any other major event for 3-year-old fillies.

Most seem destined for a career in the claiming ranks.

Hit a Homer Honey, who couldn’t beat $32,000 maidens in her last two starts, rallied from last to score a $100.60 upset in a race restricted to 2-year-old fillies offered for sale in the California Thoroughbred in Training Sales last spring.

Completing a double for the father-son-in-law combination of trainer Wallace Dollase and jockey Corey Nakatani, the daughter of Kennedy Road nailed 4-1 shot Number’s Game in the final strides to win by a head in a slow 1:24 for seven furlongs.

“I was hoping she’d run third,” Dollase said. “We would have been happy to be stakes-placed with her. The strategy was to lay back. We hoped to save more ground than we did. Luckily, the speed came back.”

Dragonetta, the 2-1 favorite, was third, a little more than a length behind Number’s Game. Saratoga Success was fourth, followed by Love Conquers All, who had been unbeaten in three starts; Title Bought; Deceptive Operator; Cal Poly Time; Tempest Cloud; Cloud Racer; Red Radiance, and Political Downfall.

Horse Racing Notes

The $100,000 Tanforan Handicap will be simulcast from Bay Meadows today between Oak Tree’s seventh and eighth races. There are only five entrants--Pleasant Variety, Variety Road, Esker Island, The Medic and Wave to Me--in the 1 1/8-mile grass race. Laffit Pincay will ride Pleasant Variety for trainer Jerry Fanning. Pincay will be at Laurel Sunday to ride Fly Till Dawn for Darrell Vienna in the Washington D.C. International. Kent Desormeaux and Corey Black also have calls in the International. The former will handle Ten Keys, the latter Vijaya.

This hasn’t been the best of weeks for Clover Racing Stable. Back east, Citidancer fractured a sesamoid, ending his career, and locally, Kansas City bowed a tendon while preparing for next weekend’s California Cup. Citidancer will go to stud in Maryland; Kansas City, a gelded son of Habitony, will undergo an operation and could come back sometime next year.