Strike The Gold Puts Fast Finish to His Streak and Best Pal’s, Too

Don’t look for any more trips to Pimlico for Best Pal.

Proving his fifth-place finish in last year’s Preakness wasn’t a fluke, the 4-year-old Habitony gelding was fourth in Saturday’s $700,000 Pimlico Special at Baltimore.

While the 3-5 favorite in Maryland and at Hollywood Park, where the race was simulcast, was losing for the first time in five 1992 starts, Strike The Gold was ending a 12-race losing streak.

Sold at auction four days earlier, the 4-year-old son of Alydar rallied from dead last for his first victory since last year’s Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Craig Perret, Strike The Gold defeated Fly So Free by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:54 4/5 for the 1 3/16 miles.

Dispatched at 6-1 in Maryland in the fourth leg of the American Championship Racing Series, Strike The Gold paid $30 at Hollywood Park.

“This is a courageous animal,” trainer Nick Zito said. “He never runs a bad race and that’s what this game is about. He got (to Pimlico) on Wednesday. Thursday morning he was sharp and Friday he was an absolute bear. I stood him in the gate and you wouldn’t believe the way he trained. I just think he’s been coming around.”

Carrying high weight of 126 pounds and spotting his six opponents from four to 15 pounds, Best Pal was kept outside and close to the moderate pace by Kent Desormeaux, but it was clear at the quarter pole this wasn’t going to be his day.

“He just doesn’t get a hold of this race track,” trainer Gary Jones said.

Fly So Free, who had a series of fast workouts at Belmont Park leading up to the Special, finished 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Twilight Agenda, the 4-1 second choice at Pimlico.

“I can’t believe Strike The Gold beat him, that’s all,” said Scotty Schulhofer, Fly So Free’s trainer. “He ran well. He’s back to his old self. I wasn’t worried. I knew he was coming back.”

Valley Crossing was fifth and Defensive Play and Ibero rounded out the order of finish.

Gary Stevens, who finished a distant seventh in the jockey standings at Santa Anita, has a new agent.

Starting with Wednesday’s races at Hollywood Park, Ron Anderson, who has worked for Fernando Toro and Russell Baze, among others, in the past, will be booking mounts for Stevens, replacing Ray Kravagna.

This is the second time Stevens and Kravagna have parted company. They split in 1987 and Jeff Franklin took over Stevens’ book, but Kravagna was later rehired.

“I (made the change) for personal reasons I don’t care to discuss,” Stevens said. “I’ve known Ron since I’ve been down here and I think he does a good job.”

Taking advantage of a track that has been kind to come-from-behind runners, Slerp came from last to win the $81,300 Harry Henson Stakes at Hollywood Park.

A $40,000 claim by trainer Bob Hess on Jan. 17, the 3-year-old Slewpy colt has won three of five races since and the Harry Henson was his second consecutive stakes success. Slerp won the San Pedro April 11 at Santa Anita.

Never Round, who also rallied wide, was second, a neck in front of Star Of The Crop, the 2-1 second choice. Scherando, the 3-2 favorite, was fourth after setting the pace.

Three races later, Cardmania used similar tactics to upset heavily favored Gray Slewpy in the $106,200 Los Angeles Handicap.

Ahead of only Individualist early, the 6-year-old Cox’s Ridge gelding rallied on the outside and ran down Gray Slewpy, the 3-5 choice and unbeaten in three previous starts this year, to win by nearly two lengths in 1:08 3/5 for the six furlongs.

Completing a triple for Eddie Delahoussaye, Cardmania, a 6-1 shot, has won three of his last four starts, all with Delahoussaye aboard.

“What a performance to beat Gray Slewpy,” trainer Derek Meredith said. “You’d have to put him up there with the best sprinters in America now. In his last race (a fourth-place finish at Keeneland), he really didn’t like the track and a new rider (Perret) maybe used him up too early.”

Gray Slewpy finished 3 1/2 lengths ahead of Robyn Dancer, who was followed by Frost Free and Individualist.

An easy winner of the Santa Barbara Handicap April 5 at Santa Anita in her first start of the year, Kostroma is the 6-5 favorite in today’s $109,500 Wilshire Handicap at Hollywood Park.

Six other fillies and mares will go in the Wilshire, which is run at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The entry of Sha Tha and Crystal Gazing is the 7-2 second choice, then comes Re Toss and Appealing Missy (5-1), Elegance (12-1) and Danzante (15-1). Only Yours, who ran second in an allowance race Saturday, was scratched.

A 6-year-old Caerleon mare, Kostroma finished sixth in her only other Hollywood Park appearance. She was beaten four lengths by Flawlessly as the even-money favorite in the Matriarch Dec. 1, but she went to the sidelines after that race because of bruised feet.

Horse Racing Notes

Eddie Delahoussaye also won with Roger’s Romance and Odalea, who won in her first start since June 30 for trainer Julio Canani. . . . The exacta coupling Strike The Gold with Fly So Free paid $119 in Maryland compared to $241.20 at Hollywood Park. . . . Cardmania paid $14 to win in the Los Angeles and Slerp paid $7.40 as the 5-2 third choice. . . . Marquetry, the upset winner of last year’s Hollywood Gold Cup, will make his first start of 1992 in today’s third race, a $55,000 allowance at seven furlongs. David Flores will ride Marquetry for trainer Bobby Frankel and he will have five opponents. . . . Dignitas, a 16-1 longshot ridden by Jerry Bailey, rallied in the stretch and beat favored American Chance by three lengths in the 35th running of the $533,500 Illinois Derby at Sportsman’s Park in Chicago. American Chance, the 17-10 favorite ridden by Pat Day, held off Straight to Bed by three-quarters of a length in the field of 13 3-year-olds. Vying Victory, the second choice in the betting, finished ninth. The victory was Bailey’s third in as many tries in the Illinois Derby. He won it in 1988 with Proper Reality and with Richman last year.