HOLLYWOOD PARK : A Costly Goof for Itsallgreektome

The difference between Ferdinand and Itsallgreektome in the Breeders’ Cup is that Ferdinand won the Classic by a nose in 1987 and was voted horse of the year, and Itsallgreektome lost a tight finish by a neck in this year’s Mile.

That’s not much of a difference, and Wally Dollase, who trains Itsallgreektome, has an easier time spotting the similarities. “My horse pulled a Ferdinand deal in the Breeders’ Cup or we would have won it,” Dollase said Friday morning at Hollywood Park, shortly before he entered Itsallgreektome to run against 11 other 3-year-olds in Sunday’s $200,000 Hollywood Derby.

By “Ferdinand deal,” Dollase means the tendency in some horses to quit running hard and try to pull themselves up after they have made the lead in deep stretch. When Bill Shoemaker rode Ferdinand, he would deliberately wait as long as he could to move the Kentucky Derby winner to the front. That way, Ferdinand wouldn’t have much time to give the victory away.

In the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Belmont Park Oct. 27, Itsallgreektome got to the lead with a little less than a furlong to go but didn’t spot Royal Academy charging on the outside and eased up slightly as the English horse nipped him at the wire.

“This is typical of some intelligent horses,” Dollase said. “They get ahead and they think they’ve won the race. The thing they’re not smart about is knowing where the finish line is.”

Dollase knew about Itsallgreektome’s quirk before the Breeders’ Cup. In fact, it has been a problem for several races. Itsallgreektome wears blinkers, but the small hole in the right cup is bigger--to give him a better glance at the outside, which is where rallying horses usually come from.

“Itsallgreektome went to sleep after he made the lead in that Bay Meadows race (the Ascot Handicap on Sept. 22),” Dollase said. “(Jockey) Corey (Nakatani) started screaming and yelling at him to keep him going, and he still won it.”

One of the horses that might be bearing down on Itsallgreektome at the end of the 1 1/8-mile race Sunday is Silver Ending, the $1,500 yearling who has earned about $900,000. Trained by Ron McAnally, Silver Ending comes from the same barn as Tight Spot, whose victory over Itsallgreektome in the Del Mar Derby is being appealed to the California Horse Racing Board by Dollase and the horse’s owner, Jheri Redding. Silver Ending finished fifth in the Del Mar Derby, but since then has won the Pegasus Handicap at the Meadowlands.

The grass runners who will start in the Hollywood Derby line up this way: Worthington Winner, to be ridden by Jean-Luc Samyn; Intimiste, Jose Santos; Anshan, Chris McCarron; Seti I., Julio Garcia; Marquetry, David Flores; Itsallgreektome, Nakatani; Barton Dene, Jorge Velasquez; Septieme Ciel, Kent Desormeaux; Bold Liloy, Rafael Meza; In Excess, Gary Stevens; Noble Dr., Russell Baze; and Silver Ending, Eddie Delahoussaye.

All of the horses will carry 122 pounds except Silver Ending, who because of an earnings stipulation in the race conditions must run with 125 pounds.

Not the bargain that Silver Ending has become, Itsallgreektome still has done well, earning $225,000 in the Breeders’ Cup and totaling more than $500,000 since Dollase bought the Florida-bred as a yearling for $75,000.

“Clyde Rice was bidding against me,” Dollase said, “and while I liked the horse on my own, that kind of spurred me on, because I know Clyde’s got a good eye for a horse. I think Clyde might have gone higher, too, but he was pinhooking (buying a horse with plans for a quick resale), and you can’t go much higher than $75,000 when you’re doing that.”

Itsallgreektome has been treated for a bleeding problem that he had as a 2-year-old, and he was gelded earlier this year. But the real reason for his improved record has been the switch from dirt to grass. On dirt, the grandson of Northern Dancer won only one of five starts in sub-stake company, but starting with a victory in the Spotlight Handicap at Hollywood Park last May, he has never been worse than third in in seven stakes appearances on grass.

In particular, Itsallgreektome likes the turf at Hollywood, where he also won the Will Rogers Handicap in May.

Horse Racing Notes

Septieme Ciel, a son of Seattle Slew, was entered in the Breeders’ Cup Mile but didn’t get the chance to run because the stake was oversubscribed. He will make his American debut in the Hollywood Derby after winning five of 11 starts in Europe, and will remain in California to be trained by Richard Mandella. . . . Trainer Bill Shoemaker’s father, B.B. Shoemaker, who was 81, died after suffering a heart attack in Riverside Tuesday.