HOLLLYWOOD PARK : Whadjathink Might Try Preakness

Those who thought earlier this year that Whadjathink had a chance to be successful the first Saturday of May turned out to be prophetic.

The only difference is the victory by the 3-year-old Seattle Song colt came in the $108,975 Spotlight Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Hollywood Park, rather than the Kentucky Derby.

After ending his two-race losing streak in his second start on the turf, Whadjathink may be a participant in the next stop on the Triple Crown trail--the Preakness May 18 at Pimlico. If trainer Michael Whittingham and jockey Jorge Velasquez have their way, that is where owner Dick Duchossois’ colt is headed.

Very impressive in his first two appearances, Whadjathink was his own worst enemy when fourth at 7-5 in the Bradbury Stakes Feb. 20 at Santa Anita. He was very nervous going to the starting gate, and Gary Stevens said he expended most of his energy before the race had even started.

Given five weeks off, he was fourth in a grass allowance, then Whittingham gave him more time before bringing him back Saturday.

“He wasn’t himself in the last two races,” said the trainer after Whadjathink’s 7-1 upset over Character and eight others. “He’s traveling better. He was tensing up before the races, and it was causing him to lose a lot of his action.

“If you noticed, he didn’t come out of there (the gate) running like he did the first couple of races. I just got him sedated for a while. He’s real tense, typical of the Seattle Slew line. He’s not afraid of anything, he’s just on the muscle.”

Whittingham will be sending a group of horses to Chicago Wednesday for the start of the Arlington Park meeting. Whadjathink may go along en route to Maryland.

“It looks like he’s back in shape and at the beginning of the year, I thought this was the best horse I had ever trained,” said Whittingham, who conditioned 1986 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Skywalker.

“We have some decisions to make. He could go to Maryland or run in some of those Illinois-bred races (at Arlington Park). We’ll have to talk about it.”

Outrun early, Whadjathink rallied around the turn, was widest of all into the stretch and won by nearly two lengths in 1:34 2/5 for the mile.

“He’s awful big and strong, too,” said Velasquez, who said he has won a couple of stakes races since returning to New York. “He was full of run on the first turn. They kind of slowed the pace down, and I was clipping heels.

“Finally, I got him to slow down, then I put him outside. I thought if I get him and find no room, I’m in trouble. I had to lose ground, but he’s strong and got the job done. He ran a powerful race.”

Making his second start in the United States and first on Lasix, Character, an 8-1 shot, finished three-quarters of a length ahead of Soweto. Then came Stark South; River Traffic; Sounds Fabulous, the 7-2 favorite; Gray Slewpy; Majestic Class; Bering Gifts and What A Spell.

Black Jack Road made for another profitable trip south for trainer Fordell Fierce Saturday at Hollywood Park.

Making it two consecutive victories in Southern California, the 7-year-old Kennedy Road gelding outfinished favored Sunny Blossom by a head in the $107,000 Los Angeles Handicap. Two months earlier, Black Jack Road had won Santa Anita’s El Conejo Handicap.

Beaten at 2-5 odds in his last start at Golden Gate, Black Jack Road was closest to Sunny Blossom throughout and was up in the final strides to win in 1:09.

The 5-1 shot’s eighth victory in 25 starts left the Northern California-based Fierce with mixed emotions because it came at the expense of Ed Gregson, Sunny Blossom’s trainer.

“Eddie’s been like my father in this business,” Fierce said. “Eddie just congratulated me after the race. He’s as gracious a person as there is.

“Eddie sent me this horse last October. What happened to this horse last time was that he’d had a foot injury and I kind of missed some time training him. It was touch and go if he’d even make the race. He wasn’t right.

“We nominated to this race because there are only limited opportunities for sprinters and this happened to be one of them.”

Entering the final furlong, Russell Baze thought victory was going to come easier than it did for Black Jack Road.

“But that other son-of-a-gun dug right in,” he said. “I kind of wanted my horse to show a little more speed. I wanted to be out there hustling the horse on the lead a little bit, but I guess he didn’t have quite enough speed to go with him.

“I kept him into the bridle, so he didn’t fall back too far. I knew if I gave him too much of a lead I wouldn’t be able to catch him.”

Tanker Port was third in the Los Angeles, followed by Doyouseewhatisee, Jacodra and Yes I’m Blue.

Horse Racing Notes

Hollywood Park’s combined handle (on and off-track) on the Kentucky Derby was $2,440,169, the second largest single race pool in the track’s history. The $2 exacta pool of $1,039,885 was also the second largest at Hollywood Park. The largest single race pool was $2,597,453 on last year’s Kentucky Derby. . . . Strike The Gold paid $13.20 at Hollywood Park, compared to $11.60 at Churchill Downs. The Strike The Gold-Best Pal exacta paid $66.60 for $2 locally, opposed to $73.40 in Kentucky.

David Flores won three times Saturday and he now leads the standings with 10 winners. Russell Baze and Eddie Delahoussaye had two victories apiece. . . . Fire The Groom is the 6-5 morning line favorite in today’s $100,000 Wilshire Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Winner of the Santa Anita Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap in her first start of 1991, Fire The Groom will be opposed by Agirlfromars, Spring Daffodil, Annual Reunion, Appealing Missy, Gaelic Bird and Odalea.