SANTA ANITA : Griswold Is Favored in Match Race

Griswold, a 5-year-old quarter horse, is the 1-2 favorite to win the first match race in Santa Anita history today. It will be held between the fourth and fifth races and there will be win betting only.

The 5-year-old Merridoc gelding’s opponent in the four-furlong match is Valiant Pete, who wasn’t the first choice to be the thoroughbred participant. Originally, Sunny Blossom was going to oppose Griswold, but he was dropped after a dull 1991 debut and Olympic Prospect took his place. A minor problem forced him out, so Valiant Pete became the one.

Griswold, owned by Pete Parella and Jerry Moreland, drew the rail and will be ridden by Kip Didericksen, who has been aboard for his last four starts. Julio Garcia will ride Valiant Pete. The purse is $100,000, winner-take-all, and each horse will carry 120 pounds.

Winner of nine of 34 starts and more than $374,000, Griswold set a world record Feb. 1 at Los Alamitos when he ran 870 yards--10 yards short of half a mile--in 43.99 seconds. He won the Bull Raustus Invitational Handicap by nearly four lengths and has won three straight at the distance.

Valiant Pete, a 5-year-old gelded son of The Irish Lord, has won six of his 15 starts and has a world record of his own. He ran 4 1/2 furlongs at Los Alamitos in 49 1/5 seconds last Aug. 11 while winning the Mt. Harvard Handicap.

Eleven turf specialists were entered Friday morning for Sunday’s $500,000 San Juan Capistrano at 1 3/4 miles on the grass.

The complete tour of Santa Anita’s grass course is a Grade I, but the field is weak. None of the entrants brings to mind John Henry, Exceller, Fiddle Isle, Cougar II or any of dozens of other talented winners of previous Capistranos.

Pleasant Variety, who won the San Luis Rey last month as the longest shot in the field, is the 7-2 favorite on Jeff Tufts’ morning line, but successive victories would be novel for the 7-year-old.

Claimed two years ago by owners Marty and Eileen Alpert, Pleasant Variety had lost seven in a row before beating Royal Reach and eight others in the San Luis Rey and he has made a habit of running second and third. He has eight victories, 10 seconds and 11 thirds in 54 starts, but he has earned nearly $1.1 million.

Gary Stevens, who rode the horse for the first time in the San Luis Rey, has the call again. Pleasant Variety is the co-high weight at 118 pounds with El Senor.

A 7-year-old son of Valdez, El Senor has earned nearly $1.6 million but he hasn’t been close in either of his local starts. He was eighth in the San Luis Obispo at 3-1, then was seventh at 4-1 in the San Luis Rey. La Zanzara, who won the 1975 Capistrano, is the only female to have won the race but Star Standing and Peinture Bleue will try to duplicate her feat Sunday.

The rest of the field includes Jack Munari’s entry of Valdali and Aksar, plus River Warden, Intelligently, Mashkour, Live The Dream and Royal Reach.

Horse Racing Notes

The feature today at Santa Anita is the $108,900 San Simeon Handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf. The field, from the rail out: Waterscape, Rick Dominguez riding; Forest Glow, Julio Garcia; Yes I’m Blue, David Flores; Shirkee, Laffit Pincay; Coastal Voyage, Alex Solis; Cape Ludtke, Rick Faul; Clairwil, Rafael Meza, Jacodra, Corey Nakatani and Answer Do, Russell Baze.