SANTA ANITA : Fly Till Dawn Could Have Run That Long During Easy Victory

Santa Anita could have saved some time and stopped its longest race before it was half over Sunday.

The way Fly Till Dawn relaxed, loping along on the lead under Pat Valenzuela, it was apparent no one was going to beat him in the $500,000 San Juan Capistrano.

At the end of the 1 3/4 miles on turf, the 9-5 second choice had seven lengths on Miss Alleged, the 6-5 favorite, while completing the distance in 2:46 2/5. This was the widest margin of victory since Lemhi Gold won by seven in 1982. Seabiscuit also won by that margin in 1937, when the race was run at 1 1/8 miles on dirt.

“I heard Trevor (track announcer Denman) say, ‘He’s not going to win,’ ” said Valenzuela, who replaced the injured Laffit Pincay on the 6-year-old Swing Till Dawn horse. “I started looking around to see where something might be coming from, and Trevor went on to say, ‘He’s going to romp.’

“The fractions weren’t that slow (23 4/5, 47 2/5, 1:11 4/5, 1:36 3/5, 2:00 and 2:23 4/5 for the 1 1/2 miles), but he was really relaxed. I didn’t have to fight him at all. He galloped around like he was in a two-minute lick, and when I asked him to pick it up, he really picked it up. It was as easy as it looked.”

This was the first victory in the Grade I event for trainer Darrell Vienna after two seconds, with Mountain Bear in 1986 and Wylfa a year later.

“Believe me, there was some doubt in my mind,” Vienna said. “It’s a tough race, a lot of distance. I thought I was going to win it a couple of times when I didn’t. But, I must admit, at the eighth pole, I thought we were going to win this one.

“If you look at the fractions, they weren’t slow, but he did it real easy. Laffit, who’s here today, went down and spoke with Pat about the horse. When everybody’s working together, it really boosts your chances.

“He was so quiet in the paddock, I thought maybe the heat was getting to him. He was like he was in the International (at Laurel Oct. 21, 1990)--alert, but composed.”

Trained by Charlie Whittingham, who was seeking his 15th victory in the Capistrano, Miss Alleged outfinished 16-1 shot Wall Street Dancer by three-quarters of a length.

Whittingham didn’t seem happy with Chris McCarron’s ride. The 5-year-old mare was trapped behind horses most of the way, and by the time McCarron was able to get Miss Alleged in the clear, the race was over.

“I might have had a little trouble getting out at the far turn, but all she was going to be was a closer second,” McCarron said. “It was simply a case of her being second best. If she was better, she would have been up there where the gray horse was.”

Fly Till Dawn, who carried 121 pounds, earned $275,000 for his 10th victory in 27 starts and paid $5.80. He has earned $1,556,525.

Aksar was fourth, followed by Capel Meister, the longest shot in the field at 80-1, Berillon, Theatre Critic--who was suffering from heat exhaustion after the finish--Provins and Cool Gold Mood.

After finishing fifth in his first start on dirt in the San Bernardino Handicap, Kotashaan returns to turf today and is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the $100,000-added San Jacinto Handicap, the closing-day stakes at Santa Anita.

Group-placed on four occasions in France, Kotashaan was impressive in an allowance race March 12, before he was beaten by 5 1/4 lengths by Another Review in the San Bernardino. McCarron retains the mount for trainer Richard Mandella.

The second choice at 3-1 is Missionary Ridge, the defending champion in the 1 1/4-mile San Jacinto. A 5-year-old son of Caerleon, he was entered in the San Juan Capistrano, but trainer Bobby Frankel opted for this spot. David Flores will ride Missionary Ridge, who hasn’t won since last year’s San Jacinto.

Eddie Delahoussaye will replace Pat Valenzuela on Latin American, the 7-2 third choice. Trained by Gary Jones, Latin American was second to Qathif in the Miramontes Handicap in his last start.

The rest of the field: River Traffic (Alex Solis, 10-1), Super May (Danny Sorenson, 6-1), Fanatic Boy (Kent Desormeaux, 6-1), Reign Road (Gary Stevens, 6-1), Lovely One (Adalberto Lopez, 30-1) and Sounds Fabulous (Corey Nakatani, 20-1). Super May and Reign Road will race coupled as the Jack Kent Cooke-owned entry.

Going into the final day, Solis has a three-winner lead over Delahoussaye and Desormeaux in the jockey standings. Solis has 99 victories.

Frank Alvarado was off of his mounts for the second consecutive day because of an allergic reaction to an insect bite. Alvarado, who lost two winners Sunday--Ductility and Bien Bien--hopes to be back today.

Laffit Pincay, who suffered a broken a collarbone April 4, will have X-rays taken today, and he plans on riding Tight Spot in Sunday’s Shoemaker Handicap at Hollywood Park. After that, he says he will take five more days off, then begin riding regularly May 9.