OAK TREE : Mabees to Double Their Shot in the Norfolk Stakes Sunday

Had trainer Darrell Vienna entered Gilded Time or Sudden Hush in Sunday’s $200,000 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita, John and Betty Mabee probably wouldn’t be starting two horses in the stake for 2-year-olds.

“Since the big boys aren’t in there, we’re running both of ours,” John Mabee said.

That gives the Mabees 40% of the field, with their River Special and Devil Diamond being joined by Imperial Ridge, Dr. Bryan and Boss Soss in a stake that, for more than a decade, has been a reliable test for launching horses’ careers.

Before the Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 16, Devil Diamond was considered the stronger half of the Mabee entry. The Devil’s Bag colt had two victories over the track, including the Balboa Stakes, and River Special, despite two solid seconds in his only starts, was still a maiden. But River Special, running because John Mabee had cast the deciding vote with trainer Bob Hess Jr., won by 1 3/4 lengths over Sudden Hush. Devil Diamond was fourth, 5 1/4 lengths behind his entrymate.

Vienna considered running Sudden Hush in the 1 1/16-mile Norfolk, but because the Futurity was the colt’s fourth race of the seven-week Del Mar season, he will train him instead for the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Florida’s Gulfstream Park on Oct. 31. Vienna has the same plan for Gilded Time, the Arlington-Washington Futurity winner who is the short-priced favorite for the Juvenile in several Nevada race books.

The Mabees won the 1990 Norfolk with Best Pal, the gelding who has gone on to earn $3.8 million. Winners of the Norfolk have a lot to live up to, because previous ones include Flying Paster, Stalwart, Roving Boy, Fali Time, Chief’s Crown, Snow Chief, Capote, Hawkster, Best Pal and Bertrando.

Imperial Ridge will break from the inside Sunday, with David Flores riding. The rest of the field, in order, is Devil Diamond with Laffit Pincay, Dr. Bryan with Paul Atkinson, Boss Soss with Gary Stevens, and River Special with Kent Desormeaux. All will carry 118 pounds. Dr. Bryan and Boss Soss have been supplemented into the field at a cost of $10,000.

Mabee said that he will be satisfied if one of his juveniles runs well enough to justify a Breeders’ Cup trip. There will be another stake Sunday, the $200,000 Goodwood Handicap.

The Goodwood, 1 1/8 miles on dirt, has drawn seven starters and marks the return of Casual Lies, one of the most consistent Triple Crown runners this year before he suffered a torn hoof while running fifth in the Belmont Stakes on June 6.

Before the Belmont, Casual Lies had run second to Lil E. Tee in the Kentucky Derby and was third behind Pine Bluff and Alydeed in the Preakness. The Santa Anita track agreed with him in April, when he earned a trip to the Derby by running third behind A.P. Indy and Bertrando in the Santa Anita Derby.

Shelley Riley, the owner and trainer of Casual Lies, had a post-Triple Crown falling-out with Stevens. Riley was critical of the way the colt was ridden and also disapproved of the way the jockey filled out his expense accounts, so Corey Nakatani has drawn the riding assignment.

Stevens’ mount in the Goodwood is Claret, who has drawn the rail and will carry 116 pounds. The rest of the lineup is Casual Lies, 115 pounds; Another Review, Pincay, 121; Reign Road, Desormeaux, 116; Twilight Agenda, Pat Day, 120; Sir Beaufort, Alex Solis, 116; and Marquetry, Flores, 120.