DEL MAR : Thirty Slews Takes Short Way Out

Conspicuous by his absence from the field for Saturday’s Pat O’Brien Handicap is Thirty Slews.

Victimized by a premature move after breaking slowly in the Bing Crosby Aug. 3 in his first start of the year, the Slewpy gelding had to settle for second behind Bruho.

Based on that effort, Thirty Slews would have been tough in the seven-furlong O’Brien against Bruho, Deposit Ticket, Burn Annie, Due To The King, Tanker Port and Asia.

Instead, trainer Bob Baffert will run the gray in today’s seventh race, a $50,000 allowance at six furlongs.

Distance is the reason Baffert chose the less lucrative spot.

“I don’t want to run this horse past three-quarters (of a mile),” he said Thursday morning. “I want to keep him right there. He’d been off for a long time and seven-eighths is such a grueling distance.

“If he runs well here, we’re going to send him to Philadelphia Park (for the Philadelphia Park Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Sept. 14). That’s a $150,000 race. Then, we’ll take him back to Santa Anita, and we want to go to the Breeders’ Cup with him.”

One of Thirty Slews’ opponents today is a horse who also seemed likely to show up in the Pat O’Brien. Sir Beaufort, who is most effective sprinting, comes off an impressive victory at 6 1/2 furlongs Aug. 1. Others in the field include Gold Crest Express, who just won a stakes at the Bay Meadows Fair but has never fared as well in this part of California; Blue Eyed Danny and Real Cash, who will be making his first start since winning the American Derby more than a year ago.

“(Thirty Slews has) drawn an outside post, and if he can’t beat these horses, we have no business even thinking about the Breeders’ Cup,” Baffert said.

Eddie Delahoussaye will be back aboard Thirty Slews today. Kent Desormeaux rode him for the first time in the Bing Crosby because Delahoussaye was busy at Arlington Park with Olympio that day.

Letthebighossroll, who was third in an allowance race a week ago, is being pointed toward the California Cup, according to Baffert. The 3-year-old son of Flying Paster will try two turns again in the restricted El Cajon Stakes on Sept. 4.

“I thought he ran a good race the other day,” Baffert said. “He was in with two really good horses (Ibero and Fanatic Boy).”

Pacific Classic winner Best Pal will run in the $1-million Super Derby Sept. 22 at Louisiana Downs.

The Molson Export Million a week earlier at Woodbine also had been considered, but trainer Gary Jones likes the extra seven days.

“The timing’s better,” he said. “It’s better to give him five weeks in between races. It worked for Jack (Van Berg with Alysheba) and for Charlie (Whittingham with Sunday Silence) and if it works for Gary, we’ll be OK.

“We’ll work Best Pal here on the 16th (of September), and we’ll probably send him down there after that. He came out of the race fine and he’s doing well.”

Gary Stevens will be at Longacres Park in Renton, Wash., Sunday to ride Louis Cyphre for trainer Bobby Frankel in the $250,000 Rainier Mile.

Formerly called the Longacres Mile, the Rainier will be simulcast at Del Mar between the sixth and seventh races.

Louis Cyphre, the 120-pound high weight, was most recently third behind Twilight Agenda and Roanoke as the favorite in the San Diego Handicap. He has two stakes victories in 1991--the Golden Gate Budweiser Breeders’ Cup Handicap and Hollywood Park’s Mervyn LeRoy. The 5-year-old Niniski horse worked half a mile in 47 3/5 Thursday morning.

Another local going north is Trebizond, who was recently claimed for $100,000 by trainer Noble Threewitt for the Jawl Brothers. Kent Desormeaux will ride Trebizond, who easily won a turf allowance race at Del Mar earlier this month.

Six locally based horses are among 13 set for the 11th Arlington Million Sept. 1 at Arlington International Racecourse.

Tight Spot, who is unbeaten in seven starts on the turf, was supplemented for $50,000 to the Million and he will be ridden by Laffit Pincay.

Trainer Wally Dollase will have two representatives--Algenib and Itsallgreektome. Kent Desormeaux will ride Algenib and Shane Sellers Itsallgreektome, whose regular rider, Corey Nakatani, will remain at Del Mar that day to handle Lite Light in the Chula Vista.

The other members of the California contingent are the Frankel duo of Exbourne and Filago and Anshan. The rest of the probable field is Dr. Root, Chenin Blanc, Hundra, Izvestia, Jolie’s Halo, Kartajana and Sagace’s Choice.

Del Mar will simulcast the Million along with the Philip Iselin Handicap from Monmouth Park, the next-to-last leg of the American Championship Racing Series.

Horse Racing Notes

Lite Light, who was originally going to arrive at Del Mar Thursday for the Chula Vista, will ship south from Bay Meadows on Sunday. . . . Chris McCarron won three times Thursday but was disqualified from an apparent fourth victory when Buzzywear was taken down in the fifth race. Kent Desormeaux had two victories.