THOROUGHBRED RACING : Despite Brought To Mind’s Scratch, It Was a Banner Day for McAnally

Trainer Ron McAnally didn’t win a stakes race at Santa Anita Saturday mainly because he scratched Brought To Mind, the morning-line favorite, from the Santa Lucia Handicap.

Elsewhere, the McAnally outfit cleaned up. At Golden Gate Fields, Tight Spot, last year’s male turf champion, conceded a lot of weight and still came away with a victory in the $200,000 San Francisco Mile. And at Oaklawn Park, Tokatee scored a half-length victory in the Razorback Handicap, setting up the possibility that McAnally could run a three-horse entry of Saturday’s winner, Sea Cadet and Fanatic Boy in the Oaklawn Handicap at the Arkansas track on April 11.

Another Santa Anita-based trainer, John Sadler, went far afield for a victory Saturday when his lightly raced Three Peat scored a 3 1/4-length victory in the $126,000 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct. Three Peat, who didn’t run his first race until Feb. 2, will remain in New York, and should he stretch out in longer distances there, might wind up in at least one of the Triple Crown races.

Sadler will be back at Santa Anita today with Frost Free, a 7-year-old gelding who can handle off tracks, in the Potrero Grande Handicap.

In the San Francisco Mile, Tight Spot scored his first stakes victory since the Arlington Million almost seven months ago. Since then, he ran ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile--his only loss on turf--was voted an Eclipse Award, got a rest and returned to action last month with an allowance victory at Santa Anita.

At Golden Gate, Tight Spot carried 125 pounds, nine more than each of the two horses that finished immediately behind him. Forty Niner Days, winner of the race last year, pressured Tight Spot early and finished third, a half-length behind Notorious Pleasure, who made a bid through the stretch but came up a neck short.

Tight Spot, timed in 1:35 2/5, scored his 12th victory in 20 starts for owner-breeder Verne Winchell, earning $110,000 and sending his total over $1.5 million. Tight Spot paid $3.60 at Golden Gate and $3.40 at Santa Anita, where there was betting on the simulcast of the race. Super May, Leger Cat, Eternity Star, Bistro Garden, French Seventyfive and Due To The King completed the order of finish.

Laffit Pincay has ridden Tight Spot in his nine starts, winning six stakes. “Once again, he proved what kind of a champion he is,” Pincay said Saturday. “It was not his best kind of track, but he managed to win. When the turf is soft, he has trouble. He took some bad steps today. I was concerned about him carrying all that weight on a soft course. But when those horses came up outside of him, he responded. He’s tough. He always does his best, that’s why I really don’t get into him (with the whip) repeatedly. He’s one of the best horses I’ve ever ridden.”

Eduardo Inda, McAnally’s assistant, saddled Tokatee for owner Marie Jones at Oaklawn. Tokatee had made two non-winning starts at Santa Anita this winner, finishing sixth in the San Antonio Handicap in his last race.

Fly So Free was the 7-10 favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Razorback, but had been sick in Florida this winner and hadn’t run since his fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. He ran fourth behind Tokatee, who came from just off the pace to beat On the Edge, with Total Assets third, a neck from second. After Fly So Free came Quintana, Queen’s Gray Bee, Medium Cool, Bedeviled and Echelon’s Ice Man.

Tokatee, ridden by Garrett Gomez, was timed in 1:42 4/5 and paid $10.80.

“He ran with no interest,” said Jose Santos, who rode Fly So Free. “I took hold of him into the first turn and I thought he was going to get into the race, but he just never showed any interest. I was told that he was training well over this track, but I think the layoff since November didn’t help him and that he still needed the race.”

Three Peat, ridden by Chris Antley, went off at 7-5 and ran fractions of 22 for the first quarter-mile and 44 3/5 for the half over a track called good. Three Peat’s final time for seven furlongs was 1:21 3/5, with Goldwater second by a nose over Best Decorated.

Three Peat ran a 1:08 2/5 six-furlongs in his debut at Santa Anita last month, beating maidens by seven lengths, and then Arp beat him by a half-length in the same time about two weeks later. Arp went on to finish second to Bertrando in the San Felipe Stakes.

Behind Best Decorated came American Chance, Western Miner, Chris Forbes, Federal Funds, Agincourt, Permit and Golden Phase.

“I think this is a horse with a bright future,” Sadler said.

Three Peat, who is a gelded son of Magesterial out of a Mr. Prospector mare, has been sold twice, for $38,000 as a yearling and for $48,000 as an unraced 2-year-old. His current owners are Gary and Harry Biszantz.

“I think John (Sadler) is thinking in terms of the Preakness,” Gary Biszantz said. “I think John believes that the horse may not want to go a mile and a quarter (the Kentucky Derby distance), but the Preakness (a sixteenth of a mile shorter) is a possibility.”

Wayne Lukas, who saddled Cuddles to win the $80,625 Santa Lucia Handicap on a muddy track Saturday at Santa Anita, has taken over the training of Lite Light, a much more talented 4-year-old filly.

Lite Light, trained most of last year by Jerry Hollendorfer as she finished second to Dance Smartly in the voting for best 3-year-old filly, has been sent to Lukas’ barn at Santa Anita along with four other horses owned by the rap singer Hammer and his family. Lukas already had five other Hammer horses under his care, including Dance Floor, one of the top 3-year-old colts in the country.

There were rumors last year that Lite Light might be moved to Lukas.

“I understand that she’s had three workouts up there (at Golden Gate for Hollendorfer),” Lukas said. “Physically, she’s in fine shape, but I have no plans for her yet.”

Horse Racing Notes

California-bred horses won the first seven races on the card, three of them in open competition. . . . Cuddles’ victory may prevent her from being bred this spring. She gave jockey Kent Desormeaux his eighth stakes victory of the year. . . . Perky Slew, with only three victories in 24 starts before Saturday, won the $62,050 Shywing Handicap.

At the Fair Grounds, the Louisiana Derby was decided on a foul, with Colony Light, the first-place finisher ridden by Julie Krone, disqualified for drifting inside near the eighth pole. He was placed third by the stewards. Line In The Sand, who ran second for Pat Day, beaten by two lengths, was awarded the victory.