OAK TREE AT SANTA ANITA : Digression Gets His Way--and Wins

After three uninspiring performances by Digression, trainer Bobby Frankel decided a strategy change was in order.

“The first time I ran him, he wanted to run and Gary (Stevens)) fought him,” Frankel said. “The second time I ran him on dirt and he could have made the lead, but (Stevens) fought him and the same thing happened in his third race.

“So, the other day, I finally said, ‘Just let him roll.’ ”

A highly-regarded 2-year-old in Europe and the son of Seattle Slew, Digression responded with his best U.S. race that day, finishing third behind stablemate Eton Lad after setting or forcing some very fast fractions.

The same tactics were employed in Saturday’s $81,975 Henry P. Russell Handicap, and in a field lacking front-runners, Digression led every step to win for the first time since Sept. 30, 1989.

After bearing out crossing over the dirt shortly after the start, the 3-1 third choice relaxed well under David Flores and beat 8-5 favorite Eton Lad by 2 1/2 lengths in 2:00 2/5 for the 1 1/4 miles on turf.

Eton Lad, who set a short-lived world record for 1 1/8 miles on turf in his U.S. debut Oct. 10, beat the filly La Kaldoun by a neck for second even though he was hard to control most of the way.

This was a nice farewell for Frankel, who was to leave early this morning for Churchill Downs. He will saddle three horses Saturday in the Breeders’ Cup--Filago (Turf), Val Des Bois (Mile) and Marquetry (Classic).

“The important thing is to win three next Saturday,” he said. “If you’re a speed handicapper, you had to think this horse was a cinch today. There was a four-pound weight shift with Eton Lad today, and he wasn’t going to have to go three-quarters in 1:08 4/5 like he did last time.

“They thought a lot of him in England, but he had problems. Maybe they tried to (hold him back) there, too. Eton Lad was just too (hard to control). Maybe it was just coming back in weeks. The key with him is getting him to relax.”

Although the grass was softened a bit by rain, Flores said it didn’t bother Digression.

“He used to try to (lug) out, but now he’s a very relaxed horse,” Flores said. “He’s getting better and better. Bobby has done a great job with him.”

Seven Rivers was fourth in the Russell. Then came 2-1 second choice Diable Au Corps and Theatrical Charmer. Bright Prospector, Cool Gold Mood and Stop The Stage were scratched.

Eternity Star, who rallied along the rail to win the Del Mar Derby at better than 38-1, is the 7-2 morning-line favorite in today’s $114,500 Volante Handicap.

A Grade III event, the Volante is scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the turf, but if the rain that began Saturday continues, there is a possibility the race could be moved to the main track. If that happens, there probably will be several scratches in the field of 12. Sixteen 3-year-olds were entered, but also-eligibles Heavy Rain, Kalgrey, Quaglino and Ev For Shir were scratched Saturday.

A winner of two of nine in Europe, Eternity Star beat Stark South by three-quarters of a length in the Derby, which was his first start in this country. Eddie Delahoussaye replaces the suspended Frank Alvarado on the son of Majestic Light. Trained by Frankel, Eternity Star is the 120-pound high weight in the Volante.

Among his opponents today are Stark South, who won a division of Del Mar’s Oceanside Stakes before running second in the Derby. Since then, he has finished last in the Secretariat Handicap at Arlington Park, then was fourth as the favorite in Bay Meadows’ Ascot Handicap Sept. 21. Corey Nakatani will ride for trainer John Russell.

The 5-1 second morning line choice is General Meeting, who won his first turf start Oct. 11. He came back with a good work (46 4/5 Oct. 24) for trainer Dave Hofmans and Kent Desormeaux will be his rider.

The rest of the field includes Mr. P. And Max (Laffit Pincay, 8-1); Nijinsky’s Prince (Omar Berrio, 30-1); Persianalli (Hector Torres, 30-1); Native Boundary (Chris McCarron, 6-1); Dominion Gold (Gary Stevens, 12-1); River Traffic (David Flores, 12-1); Track Monarch (Pat Valenzuela, 8-1); Infamous Deed (Ron Warren, 6-1) and Doc Of The Day (Alex Solis, 15-1).

Horse Racing Notes

Digression paid $8.20 to win and earned $48,225 for his owner, Juddmonte Farms. . . . Bill Shoemaker was in the winner’s circle between the fourth and fifth races Saturday to present Kent Desormeaux with the Bill Shoemaker Leading Rider award. Desormeaux earned the honor for being the leading rider at the 1990 Oak Tree meeting.

David Flores, Eddie Delahoussaye and Chris McCarron each had two winners Saturday. . . . With the end of daylight time, post time moves to 12:30 p.m. today.