HOLLYWOOD PARK : Miss Alleged Gives Extra Proof by Winning a Slow Turf Cup

In a finish that was the mirror image of the run to the wire in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs six weeks ago, Miss Alleged won the $500,000 Hollywood Turf Cup Sunday, with Itsallgreektome and Quest For Fame unable to stop the French filly’s cross-country victory tour.

Winless at home five times this year after coming off ankle surgery, and fifth in her first American start, Miss Alleged gave an encore to her Breeders’ Cup victory, holding off Itsallgreektome by a head with Quest For Fame another 1 1/4 lengths back in third place. In the Breeders’ Cup, Miss Alleged overtook Itsallgreektome in the last 30 yards to win by a half-length, with Quest For Fame trailing the second-place horse by two lengths.

Sunday’s victory was worth $275,000 to Miss Alleged’s owner, international businessman Issam Fares. It could be worth more at the Eclipse Awards ballot box, where a three-way vote is anticipated among the Turf Cup winner, Flawlessly and Miss Josh, a mare who has traveled 14,000 miles this year to win five of eight grass starts.

Charlie Whittingham, who trains Flawlessly and who saddled Miss Alleged for the first time Sunday, doesn’t have a vote for the award, and after the Turf Cup he declined to give advice to those who do. Whittingham, 78, has already trained eight champions, a collection that starts with Ack Ack in 1971 and ends with another horse of the year, Sunday Silence, in 1989.

“I’ll take either one,” Whittingham said of Flawlessly and Miss Alleged. “I hope either one of them gets it, or both. Hey, I’ve got to be a diplomat. I don’t want to get sacked (by the different owners).”

Since she started running in California in July, Flawlessly has won five out of six, including a victory over a distinguished field in the Matriarch at Hollywood Park on Dec. 1. When the 300 or so Eclipse voters cast their ballots this month, they must weigh Flawlessly’s record against Miss Alleged’s only two 1991 victories, both against strong male opposition in two of the year’s biggest races.

Chris McCarron, who rode Flawlessly in all of her victories this year and whose strong right-handed whipping in his first try with Miss Alleged held off Itsallgreektome Sunday, was also the diplomat, except for Miss Josh. “I wish Miss Josh had been in this race,” McCarron said after the Turf Cup. “She wouldn’t have hit the board.”

Asked which horse he would ride if Flawlessly and Miss Alleged wind up in the same race, which is probable at Santa Anita this winter, McCarron said: “I wouldn’t touch that with a 10-foot pole. Both of these horses are getting a rest. When that happens, I’ll have to figure something out.”

The morning-line favorite, Miss Alleged was sent off the second choice by a crowd of 15,366 and paid $7.80. Itsallgreektome, the 7-5 favorite who carried 126 pounds, three more than Miss Alleged, has now been second by a total of fewer than 1 1/2 lengths in four races worth $4 million. Besides Sunday and last month’s Breeders’ Cup, the 4-year-old gray gelding’s other near misses were against Exbourne in this year’s Hollywood Turf Handicap and behind Royal Academy in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile.

Sunday’s race had no front-running types, which resulted in a slow pace and a final time of 2:30 for the 1 1/2 miles, 5 1/5 seconds slower than the stakes record that Itsallgreektome set in winning the race and the Eclipse Award for best male on grass a year ago.

Eternity Star, winner of a piece of the Hollywood Derby last month, went to the lead by default, with Tidemark second, Itsallgreektome third and Miss Alleged fifth, ahead of only Lights Out and Quest For Fame.

Down the backstretch, McCarron brought Miss Alleged up on the outside, passing Itsallgreektome and pulling even with Eternity Star and Tidemark. With about a furlong to run, Miss Alleged moved to the front. Quest For Fame, last year’s Epsom Derby winner, and Gary Stevens had a miserable trip, lacking room on the inside. Bobby Frankel, who trains Quest For Fame, thought he would have won otherwise. “There was nowhere to run,” Stevens said. “It’s unbelievable that we even got third.”

Trainer Wally Dollase lamented Itsallgreektome’s racing luck and the slow pace. “They ran too slow, harness horses run faster than that,” Dollase said. “And what were we doing back there? We were blocked out and he still ran a good race. Miss Alleged made her move before we did. She was able to do it, and we weren’t.”