HOLLYWOOD PARK : Run On The Bank Rallies, Gets First Stakes Victory in On Trust

No matter who trains him, Run On The Bank loves Hollywood Park.

After breaking his maiden for Neil Drysdale in July, 1990, the Water Bank colt returned 10 months later to win an allowance race for Lefty Nickerson.

Now under Wayne Lukas’ care, Run On The Bank collected his first stakes victory in Thursday’s $109,000 On Trust Handicap.

All but one of the 4-year-old’s victories have come at Hollywood Park, and he hasn’t been worse than third in his last five local starts. Helped by a swift early pace, Run On The Bank swept past heavily favored Letthebighossroll in the final furlong, then held off Individualist to win by a head in 1:29 for the 7 1/2 furlongs. Run On The Bank paid $30.60 to win.

A distant fifth in the California Cup Classic and winless since an allowance route race Aug. 11 at Del Mar, Run On The Bank was last after a half-mile, rallied five-wide into the stretch and earned $64,000 for owners William Meloche, Lloyd Taber and Daniel Teich.

“I wasn’t really surprised,” said Jeff Lukas, assistant trainer to his father. “This horse has been training well, and he’s run well here before. Considering his style of running, he needs to get a good pace in front of him and today he caught one. (Jockey) Corey (Nakatani) timed it very well.”

Riding the California-bred for the first time, Nakatani also wasn’t shocked by the outcome.

“I thought he had a chance on paper off his best races,” he said. “I was hoping they’d all hook up like that (in a fast pace) and set it up for me. I moved to the inside (on the far turn) to save ground, then moved him outside at the head of the lane. He really responded.”

Individualist, who upset Sensational Star in the 1990 On Trust, was 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Letthebighossroll, the 3-5 favorite. Express It was fourth, and he was followed by Let’s Go Flying, who raced coupled with Individualist, Softshoe Sure Shot and Due To The King.

After coming from last to win the California Cup Sprint, Letthebighossroll was on or near the lead throughout Thursday through some rapid splits (22 1/5, 44 4/5 and 1:09 4/5 for six furlongs). He put away those who were with him early but couldn’t match the first two in the closing yards.

“I didn’t want to be up there, but he broke running,” Eddie Delahoussaye said of the favorite. “He was stuck on the inside, and there wasn’t much I could do. I tried to relax him as much as I could. I waited until the three-sixteenths pole, but he just came up empty.

“I would have liked to have been about a length off (the lead), but it just didn’t work out that way.”

There were 18 entrants Wednesday morning for today’s $112,500 Hollywood Turf Express, so the 5 1/2-furlong sprint was split into two divisions.

Without question, the second division, which will be run as the eighth race, is the stronger half. Answer Do, the defending champion, is the 5-2 morning line favorite, and his opponents include Waterscape, Apollo, Hollywood Reporter and Frost Free.

Unfortunate in defeats in the Ancient Title Handicap and California Cup Sprint, Answer Do was nearly 31-1 when he beat Waterscape and Yes I’m Blue in the 1990 Express. Eddie Delahoussaye will ride Answer Do, a 5-year-old gelding, for trainer Lyman Rollins.

Waterscape is 3-1 on the line on the strength of consecutive victories at Santa Anita. David Flores will ride for trainer Scott Henry and drew the rail.

Fifth in his last two starts, Apollo will be adding blinkers today for Gary Jones, and he has a series of solid works. Apollo went 1:11 4/5 from the gate Nov. 14 and, most recently, worked five furlongs in 58 1/5 last Sunday.

The rest of the field is Robinski, the filly Bel’s Starlet, Cardmania and Sedair.

Media Plan, who set the pace before fading to fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, is the 5-2 favorite in the first division. His rivals are Gundaghia, Davy Be Good, Sun Brandy, Naevus Star, Haky, Furajet, Club Champ and Polar Bird.

Golden Pheasant, who was the surprise winner of last Sunday’s Japan Cup, has been sold by Bruce McNall and Wayne Gretzky to Japanese owner-breeder Zenya Yoshida for a reported $2.5 million.

According to a story in Thursday’s Racing Times, the 5-year-old Caro horse will be retired to stud at Yoshida’s Shadai Farm on the island of Hokkaido. This is the same place where Sunday Silence resides.

The Japan Cup win was Golden Pheasant’s first since he captured the 1990 Arlington Million. A cannon bone injury suffered while he was preparing for last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf kept him on the sidelines for nearly a year. He was winless in three 1991 starts before the Japan Cup.

Horse Racing Notes

Corey Nakatani and Kent Desormeaux won twice Thursday. . . . There was one perfect ticket in the Pick Six and it was worth more than $158,000. . . . There will be four stakes races at Hollywood Park Saturday. The Miesque, for 2-year-old fillies on the turf, was split into divisions and so was the Citation, at 1 1/8 miles on the grass. In addition, the Bay Meadows Derby will be simulcast between the eighth and ninth races.

Calumet Farm officials finally received an offer for the famed thoroughbred farm in Lexington, Ky., but it wasn’t to their liking. American International Bloodstock Agency Inc. offered $26,275,000 for the real estate and the stallions that Calumet owns or has an interest. Phil and Norman Owens of Lexington own American International. Joining them in the offer was D. Michael Cavey, a Maryland veterinarian. Ron Sladon, Calumet’s secretary-treasurer, called the proposal a “minimum bid.”