HOLLYWOOD PARK : Exbourne Proves Good Choice for His Stay-at-Home Jockey

In Excess, a horse Gary Stevens could have ridden, won the $500,000 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park Monday by 2 1/4 lengths.

But what’s a jockey to do when he has another $500,000 race to ride in--the Hollywood Turf Handicap--on the same day?

In Stevens’ case, he stayed home, and although Exbourne’s chances were not considered good because Itsallgreektome and Prized were in the field, the 5- year-old surged in the stretch for a victory that sent Stevens and his agent, Ray Kravagna, smiling into the night.

“Any time you can stay home and win a 500-grander, it’s always better than traveling,” Stevens said. “But when you already know the results of one race, it adds a little pressure going into the race you’ve picked. It made it a longer afternoon, waiting for my race, but the win made it sweeter, too.”

Itsallgreektome, last year’s male turf champion and a horse who loves Hollywood Park’s grass course, went off the 8-5 favorite before 37,950, the largest crowd of the meeting, and made the lead in the stretch of the 1 1/4-mile race before finishing second by three-quarters of a length. Prized, the second betting choice, was third, half a length behind Itsallgreektome, in his first stakes start in almost nine months.

Exbourne, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, was timed in 2:00, paid $10.60, $4.40 and $2.80 and earned $275,000. Itsallgreektome paid $3.00 and $2.20 and Prized paid $2.60 to show.

Exbourne, the son of Explodent and Social Lesson, has never run a dull race since he was sent to California trainer Bobby Frankel in the summer of 1989 after a troubled European career. In the United States, Exbourne has had five victories, two seconds and a third in eight starts.

“I don’t know what kind of problems he had over there, but there were problems and they had trouble getting him to the races,” Frankel said. “When they sent him to me, they said if he turns out all right, fine, and if he doesn’t, that’s OK, too. They told me that anything he gives me would be gravy.”

Exbourne, whose record in England was one victory and two seconds in three starts in two years, had trouble in the gate over there, and he continued to be a problem Monday. Stevens finally got off the horse before the assistant starters were able to shove him into his stall, outside in the six-horse field.

“I was worried about that post position because of the way this horse loads,” Stevens said. “He was relaxed in the post parade, though, and I didn’t think he was going to be any concern loading. He hesitated a little bit, and I bailed off of him, but after he went in, he was very relaxed.”

Jungle Pioneer, who would finish fifth, pulled Chris McCarron to the lead, slowing the pace to :48 1/5 for a half-mile and 1:11 4/5 for three-quarters.

Jungle Pioneer held a seven-length lead going down the backstretch, with Missionary Ridge and River Warden the closest. Exbourne was last after three-quarters of a mile, more than eighth lengths behind.

“I wasn’t worried about where he was, because I could tell he was relaxing,” Frankel said. “It was better that he be running not stirred up than having better position and not being relaxed.”

At the top of the stretch, Jungle Pioneer’s lead had evaporated and Itsallgreektome, who had been in fifth place early, took control. Prized still had only one horse beaten, but he and Exbourne were gaining on the leaders.

Exbourne had never run farther than a mile before, and Frankel had his doubts about Monday’s distance, but Grant Pritchard Gordon, Prince Khalid’s farm manager in Kentucky, had “guaranteed” the trainer that the horse could handle 1 1/4 miles.

Stevens thought the distance was realistic, too, based on what Exbourne had shown him in winning the one-mile Shoemaker Handicap at Hollywood Park a month ago. “He had a lot of trouble in that race,” Stevens said. “About 50 yards from the wire, a hole opened up and he won by almost a length, so I knew what kind of acceleration he has. Corey (Nakatani) asked Itsallgreektome at the head of the stretch, and he cut. I went ahead and asked my horse, and I had them in two strides. His turn of foot is just unbelievable.”

Itsallgreektome has been beaten in three of four starts this year and has been second in his last two outings. He and Prized were high weights at 123 pounds Monday, carrying four pounds more than Exbourne.

“Hopefully, we’ll get luckier next time,” Nakatani said. “We need more speed in the race. They were walking up front.”

Prized lacked racing room on the far turn and finished four horses wide, but his jockey, Eddie Delahoussaye, also thought that a faster pace would have helped.

In Excess has had a bruised foot and was scratched from the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap at Hollywood Park on May 19. By the time Bruce Jackson, In Excess’ trainer, asked Stevens to go to Belmont for the Metropolitan, the jockey had already told Frankel he would be at Hollywood to ride Exbourne.

So Pat Valenzuela was in New York for the Metropolitan to ride In Excess.

At the end of the day, Valenzuela was happy, Stevens was happy and Kravagna was happy. “We’ve already got a pretty good dirt horse to ride the rest of the year,” Kravagna said.

He was talking about Farma Way, the horse-of-the-year favorite for now.

Horse Racing Notes

Monday’s crowd of 37,950 was up almost 8,000 over last year and the highest for a Memorial Day at Hollywood Park since 1986. Management must have been caught off guard, because 35,000 patriotic baseball caps were ordered and that wasn’t enough to go around.

Bobby Frankel’s summer plans for Exbourne are the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar followed by the Arlington Million in Chicago. . . . Another of the trainer’s grass runners, Nediym, won the Point Reyes Handicap on Sunday at Golden Gate Fields, and on Saturday Frankel sent out Shotiche to win the Rolling Green Handicap on turf at the Bay Area track. Shotiche is also owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah. . . . In the Oakland Handicap on Monday at Golden Gate, Rafael Meza rode Due to the King to victory, with favored Olympic Prospect finishing fourth.

Robyn Dancer, who was sixth, three lengths behind Exbourne, in the Shoemaker Handicap, won Monday’s Kennedy Road Handicap at Hollywood by a half-length over Trebizond. . . . Lite Light, preparing for the Belmont Stakes, worked a mile at Belmont Park on Monday in a fast 1:38 4/5.

HOLLYPARK ATTENDANCE, MUTUEL HANDLE

ATTENDANCE HANDLE At Hollywood Park 37,950 $7,464,343 Off Track 11,900 $2,457,867 Out of State N/A $361,335 Total 49,850 $10,283,545