Shoemaker Trainees Finish 1-2 in Turf Handicap, With a Twist

A year to the day after Bill Shoemaker saddled his first winner, a 28-1 shot gave the injured trainer his first major stakes victory by winning the $220,200 Beverly Hills Handicap at Hollywood Park Sunday.

Shoemaker horses finished first and second, with Alcando beating Fire The Groom, the 4-5 favorite, by one length in the 1 1/8-mile race on turf.

Alcando, a 5-year-old Irish-bred mare, won her first graded stake since August of 1989. Alcando, which paid $58, had won once in four previous American starts, a minor stake at Golden Gate Fields. Ridden by Julio Garcia, her time was 1:46 2/5.

On June 30, 1990, Shoemaker won his first race as a trainer when Tempest Cloud, at 17-1, won a maiden race at Hollywood Park. Shoemaker, partially paralyzed as the result of an automobile accident April 8, is being treated at a hospital near Denver. Paddy Gallagher, his assistant, said they talk by phone every day.

Asked how he would explain to Shoemaker that their odds-on favorite didn’t win, Gallagher said: “He’s probably gotten beat on a few 4-5 shots himself.”