LOS ALAMITOS : Monteleone’s Claims Bring Fame

Frank Monteleone was born 90% blind in his right eye, but there is nothing wrong with his left. And Monteleone’s sharp eye in the claiming game has enabled him to become the leading percentage trainer in Los Alamitos quarter horse racing.

“I started getting noticed about three years ago and things snowballed,” said the bearded 41-year-old conditioner. “I started getting phone calls from people I didn’t know (to train their horses).”

Monteleone has ranked in the top five for victories the last three years and has had the highest winning percentage among the leaders for the last two. During the summer meet, he won more than 25% of his starts--43 of 170. The next best figure among the leaders was 17%. He is off to another fast start at the current session, 13 for 63, a 21% mark.

“I don’t have the numbers to match Blane (Schvaneveldt) and (Henry) Dominguez for total wins,” Monteleone said. “I only have 30 to 35 horses, and about 15 of them got sick with a virus the second week of the meet and are just starting to get healthy.”

Although he is training quarter horses now, Monteleone thanks the thoroughbred industry for his introduction to racing.

“I’ve lived in Hacienda Heights since 1979, but I grew up in Temple City,” he said. “My mom and dad owned thoroughbreds since I was a little kid.

“During the 1970s, I worked for trainers Gary Headley, Bert Littrell and Art Richmond. Art was the smartest horseman I ever met. He claimed a horse named Sir Francis S. from Frank Sinatra for $4,000 (in 1973) and won six in a row with him for my family.

“I learned to treat each horse like an individual and give them all the care. It’s no different with thoroughbreds or quarter horses. If you do that, anybody can succeed.”

Monteleone first owned a few thoroughbreds, then a few quarter horses, before deciding he could train as well himself.

“I owned a leasing company in Irvine and decided to sell it to go into training,” he said.

“I just keep trying to claim good horses. We try to repair them and move them up. I have a lot of good help. Linda Mikus is the best foreman on the track and breaks all my babies.

“My ultimate goal is to have a bunch of nice horses. If we keep an impressive percentage, I will start getting some.

“My two main clients have been John Smith, who owns a paving company in Downey, and Joe Caldwell, who is semi-retired from the roofing business in Murrieta.”

Monteleone’s two biggest claims to fame have been Polished Pride and So Cal Gal.

“Polished Pride is 7 now, but I claimed him at 2 for $12,500 and he won four stakes and $130,000,” Monteleone said. “I claimed So Cal Gal at 2 last year for $5,000. She has won two stakes and $40,000.”

Monteleone’s sharpest horse now is Gran Favor, a 3-year-old gelding who won an 870-yard race in a swift 44.79 seconds Nov. 24.

“I claimed him for $2,500 last year from Doc Allred,” Monteleone said. “He had been racing good short but acted like he wanted to go long. I moved him up to $20,000 claimers the other night and he won handily.”

That eye doesn’t miss much.

Isaws Sugar Bear, a 3-year-old filly, will have the state of Wyoming cheering for her in the $250,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos Dec. 15.

“We made it!” screamed Mary Cook as she hugged husband Ron, the horse’s owner and breeder, outside the winner’s circle Saturday night.

Isaws Sugar Bear, ridden by Steve Treasure, won a $30,000-trial in 21.56 seconds for 440 yards to earn one of four qualifying spots.

“We’re a happy bunch of dudes,” said Ron Cook, who lives in Casper. “It’s not every day that a Wyoming horse gets into something like this. We’re glad to get a gate.”

Isaws Sugar Bear, who scored her 12th victory in 17 starts, reversed a Breeders Distaff Classic decision with Lil Bit Rusty in the trial.

Cook campaigned both her sire, Isaw Kirk--a three-time Wyoming champion who earned more than $50,000--and her dam, the Bestjet mare Miss MacBeth.

Isaws Sugar Bear had strung together seven straight victories this year, at such outposts as Stillwater, Energy Downs, the Central Wyoming Fair and Albuquerque, before Cook turned the Wyoming-bred star over to trainer Bob Gilbert for the Los Alamitos meet.

Tee Roy Reb, also ridden by Treasure, won the faster trial in 21.49 in a four-horse photo finish over Wicked Dash, Sandys Love Bug and Ourautograph. Wicked Dash and Sandys Love Bug also are assured berths in the Champion of Champions.

Los Alamitos Notes

Times don’t always tell the whole story. Although Good Barry recorded the fastest qualifying time of 17.57 seconds for 350 yards last Wednesday in eight trials for the $334,000 Ed Burke Memorial Futurity for 2-year-olds at the same distance this Saturday, Vital Sign--who qualified with the sixth-fastest time of 17.75--is considered the one to beat. Why? A strong head wind kicked up during Vital Sign’s qualifier--the seventh race--and his time under adverse conditions was the most impressive of the night.

The wind had died down when Good Barry won his trial in the 10th race. Blisterin, one of the favorites for the Burke, finished second to Vital Sign in 17.87 and did not make the final. “A 15-m.p.h. head wind will stop them pretty good,” said Blane Schvaneveldt, trainer of Blisterin. “(Wind) never happens here. Of all nights, it has to be trial night.”

Jockey Joe Meier scored the richest victory of his career when he guided Genuine Article to a half-length victory over barn mate Shake Six in the $100,000 Gold Rush Derby at 870 yards Friday. Meier’s wife, Laura, is the assistant to trainer Bob Baffert, who saddled the 1-2 finishers. Both horses went off at 1.60-1 although uncoupled because of different owners.

“I thought Genuine Article was a bad claim, but he turned into a good claim,” Baffert said. “I claimed him here for $8,000 last year on a night he got beat from here to the tote board. I tried him at 870 (yards), and he’s turned into a different horse. He’s won seven of his last eight, earned $64,000 and will try the Katella Handicap (Dec. 21) next. If he beats Baychaino, maybe he’ll be champion 870 horse. I also claimed Shake Six last year for $20,000, and he’s made about $60,000. He nearly died last winter. He got some rare disease where the immune system goes down and the body attacks itself. He was at the Chino Hospital for three months, and they didn’t think he would race again.”

Although the California Horse Racing Board last week approved dates for a quarter horse meet at Fairplex Park from Oct. 4 through Nov. 30 next year, Edward Allred--president and CEO of the Los Alamitos Horsemen’s Quarter Horse Racing Assn.--doubts it will happen.

“As far as I could see, the dates would not be adequate for a meet,” he said. “The economics look pretty grim. It’s essential we have racing at that time, too, but it looks like a great money loser. The harness meet they’re hoping for there this summer looks like a great money loser, too, but they’re apparently prepared for it. We’re coming off the three greatest weeks in Los Alamitos history--we hit $1.6 million Friday--at a time nobody else is doing particularly well but we’re living in Fool’s Paradise. We’ve got the fall dates, 15 continuous weeks of racing and horses from all over the country. We don’t have those dates next year, and I think it’s going to be a real drought until the new track near Riverside opens in 1992.”

Trainer Carlos Luero, who is based in New Mexico but has a small division at Los Alamitos, is responsible for 26 of the 98 claims at the meet.

Apprehend and Way Maker are expected to head the field Friday in the $245,000 Governor’s Cup Derby. Apprehend also has qualified for the Champion of Champions the following week and may try both races.

In Breeders Crown harness highlights at Pompano Park, Fla., last weekend, Artsplace shattered the track all-age record with an eight-length victory in 1:51 1/5 in the $605,870 2-year-old colt pace, and Miss Easy set an all-time earnings mark of more than $1 million for a 2-year-old filly with a 1:54 victory in the $514,870 filly pace.