SANTA ANITA : Farma Way Finds Yet Another Way to Win After Starting Out Slowly

After being a front-running winner in his two previous races, Farma Way showed another dimension Sunday, winning the $331,750 San Antonio Handicap from off the pace and looking like a colt who shouldn’t be bothered by the added distance of the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap in three weeks.

Farma Way, who was in fifth place, about 2 1/2 lengths behind, after a half-mile, took the lead on the turn and cruised to a 2 1/2-length victory before 33,999. Two of the next three finishers--Anshan and Louis Cyphre--are European horses who were racing on dirt for the first time. Anshan ran second, a half-length ahead of Louis Cyphre and Festin, who finished in a dead heat for third. Flying Continental, who went off the second choice at 2-1, finished fifth, beaten by nine lengths. It was his worst showing in 12 starts at Santa Anita.

Carrying 118 pounds, three less than the high-weighted Flying Continental, Farma Way won his fourth consecutive race. He paid $5 to win as the favorite and earned $196,750 for his owner, George Bunn of Springfield, Ill. He ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:47 1/5, a second slower than the stakes record.

The Santa Anita Handicap March 9 will be 1 1/4 miles.

“It’s hard to say whether a horse can run farther,” said Farma Way’s jockey, Gary Stevens, who won the San Antonio last year on Ruhlmann. “When a horse finishes strong, there’s the tendency to think that he can go on, but sometimes that extra eighth of a mile can be an eternity. If Farma Way is going to stay a mile and a quarter, I’d say that this is the time to do it, because he’s improving so much.”

In his two previous victories, in the San Carlos and San Pasqual handicaps, Farma Way took early leads. Sunday, he didn’t break sharply and Stevens let him settle into fifth place while Louis Cyphre, Stylish Stud, Kaboi and Anshan made the pace. Stylish Stud, who was ahead after a half-mile, dropped back quickly and his jockey, Alex Solis, eased him to the finish line.

“They ran 1:09 4/5 (for six furlongs), so we should have been off the pace,” said Wayne Lukas, who has seen Farma Way win four of five since Bunn made the training switch from Neil Boyce to him late last year.

Lukas won the San Antonio last year with Criminal Type, the eventual horse of the year, and then they ran second to Ruhlmann and Stevens in the Big ‘Cap. Criminal Type has gone to stud, so the timing of Farma Way’s arrival couldn’t have been better for Lukas’ high-profile stable.

“I think Farma Way has more natural ability than Criminal Type,” Lukas said. “You had to really train Criminal Type. Every day, you had to wake up ready to match wits with him. This horse is so relaxed that he almost fell asleep in the paddock. He’s very versatile and has a ton of talent. I think he would be the best sprinter in the country if we ran him six furlongs, and I think he can handle the mile and a half.”

Stevens rode Criminal Type only once, taking over for a suspended Jose Santos and winning the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga in August. He says he can’t make much of a comparison between the horses.

“I didn’t want to pull out our secret weapon (of waiting behind horses) this soon,” Stevens said. “He was quiet in the post parade, and I guess I should have stirred him up a little, because he broke flat-footed. Actually, that helped me get him back. He rated himself. I moved out on the backstretch and let him pick up the pace at his leisure.”

Farma Way is a 4-year-old son of Marfa, the Lukas-trained Santa Anita Derby winner in 1983. Farma Way won only two of 10 starts before he was sent to Lukas; his only loss since came when he ran fourth in a turf allowance at Hollywood Park in December.

“I wasn’t trying to make a grass horse out of him,” Lukas said. “We just needed to get a race for him, and that one was available.”

Flying Continental, second to Farma Way in the San Pasqual, had won five races, with four seconds and two thirds, in 11 Santa Anita starts before Sunday. He raced slightly behind Farma Way in the first part of the race, but was unable to move up.

“He just didn’t run much,” said Jay Robbins, who trains Flying Continental.

Horse Racing Notes

Farma Way’s earnings passed $650,000 mark. . . . On Saturday night, during a Santa Anita bowling league session in Arcadia, jockey Gary Stevens reportedly pushed Larry Bortstein of the Orange County Register to the floor during a discussion about Stevens not winning the Eclipse Award for best jockey in 1990. Bortstein, who suffered minor injuries and reported the incident to the Arcadia Police Dept., declined comment. “It was no big deal and I have no comment about it,” Stevens said.

Laffit Pincay, whose mount, Viento Bailador, was disqualified from first to sixth place for interference during a race Saturday, has received a five-day suspension from the stewards, starting Thursday. . . . Santa Anita has a holiday card scheduled today, with El Senor and Rial, the Oak Tree Invitational winner, among the nine horses running in the San Luis Obispo Handicap. . . . Whadjathink, a promising 3-year-old, will race Wednesday in the 1 1/8-mile Bradbury.

Formidable Lady, scratched out of the Santa Margarita Handicap Saturday, beat a good allowance field on turf in the seventh race. The 5-year-old mare gave Kent Desormeaux his third winner of the day. . . . Trainer Charlie Whittingham has no specific plans for his two 3-year-olds, Excavate and Compelling Sound. After Compelling Sound beat maidens Saturday, Whittingham said: “There’s not a lot of difference between him and Excavate.”