LOS ALAMITOS : Trotter David’s Storm Probably Isn’t the Bargain He Used to Be

The reluctant buyers who considered acquiring the 4-year-old trotter David’s Storm might have to dig a little deeper.

David’s Storm was recently offered to Eastern interests by his owner, Suzanne Broughten of Corona del Mar, but a victory in last Friday’s Invitational Trot has changed the situation.

The colt, whom Broughten also bred, beat several of the top Los Alamitos-based trotters--adding to his list of credentials, which includes several stakes victories last year.

While the recent rains played havoc with the training schedules of the Del Mar-based horses, David’s Storm trained at Broughten’s farm in Bakersfield, which has a five-eighths-mile training track.

“I was proud of his victory because my farm manager (Lenny Coleman) said he was ready to race,” Broughten said. “We can train them to go (as fast as) 2:15 on the farm, which we feel is the equivalent of 2:05 at Los Alamitos.

“I don’t usually try to predict the outcome of races, but I thought he’d be first or second. I like him because he can go to the front or come from behind.”

Frank Sherren, who drives and trains David’s Storm, thinks the colt will fit the division well throughout the year as tougher horses arrive. One potential rival, Sedgeford Laddie, a mainstay in last year’s invitational division, is at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

“(David’s Storm) was real strong at the end,” Sherren said. “We didn’t want to race him to aggressively. The weather hurt all the horsemen . . . trying to get those horses ready in the last two to three weeks has been critical.”

Broughten almost sold David’s Storm last fall. She scheduled a 109-horse reduction sale for early November, but canceled it a few days in advance when negotiations broke off between track owners and a group headed by Paul Reddam, which was seeking a lease to operate the 1993 harness meeting. The impasse created a negative environment for selling horses.

Reddam and partner Perry De Luna reached an agreement with track management a few weeks later, but Broughten had taken her horses home.

Broughten has the largest standardbred breeding operation in California and races horses in Florida and New Jersey as well as California. She has no plans to leave the business, despite the troubled times that have recently plagued California harness racing.

“The sale (last November) was not a dispersal,” she said. “I wouldn’t dream of getting out. I’m one of the die-hards.”

Broughten, whose primary business is real estate development, has been involved in harness racing since the late 1970s, when she purchased a broodmare at the insistence of her daughter.

“I got lucky early and got interested in broodmares,” Broughten said. “My real interest is in pedigrees and then seeing how they race--that’s the part I like the best. I’m the eternal optimist. It’s hard to say if we’ll be racing in two or three years.”

Aside from David’s Storm, Broughten will be represented in Thursday’s $10,000 California Breeders Stakes for 3-year-old trotting fillies by David’s Starbourne, David’s Dreamer and David’s Sugar, who, like David’s Storm, are by the Broughten-owned Camp David. They face tough competition in Eggwhite, who won eight of nine starts in 1992 and is the probable favorite.

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The first weekend of the winter-spring meeting produced the best harness racing handle since last April. Fans bet $1,048,769 on Friday’s 12-race opening program, and Saturday’s handle was $749,311 on 10 races, which was hampered by three fields of five horses each.

Reddam, president of the California Harness Racing Assn., which is leasing Los Alamitos, said it could take as long as three weeks to make up the training time shortened because of the rainy weather.

“I think with the circumstances of not having any qualifying races, which is important in handicapping harness races, we’ve done well,” Reddam said. “I was quite surprised (by the fields). I thought we might have to use simulcasts (of races from the East). I think it will be one day at a time for three weeks.”

Purses for this meeting have been based on an average handle of $750,000, which is considerably higher than last fall’s average of $584,853, but less than the average of $933,320 last spring.

“I think the betting will increase, and I’m optimistic the purses will go up,” Reddam said, “especially from the large bettors who have trouble betting with confidence because it’s a guess on who’s ready right now.”

As a result of reduced training time, many horses might race as often as twice a week until the entire population, which Reddam estimates at more than 500, is ready. A message at the bottom of Thursday’s entries notified trainers that tonight’s horses will probably also be needed to fill Saturday’s card.

“For harness racing, that’s OK--we seem to thrive on the work,” Reddam said.

He has vowed to cut the time between races to 17 minutes and almost achieved that last weekend. Friday’s program began at 7:45 p.m. and ended at 11:45; Saturday’s card ended at 10:55.

Los Alamitos Notes

Tonight’s program has a carryover of $18,361 in the twin-trifecta. . . . Lou Pena leads the drivers’ standings after two nights of racing with four winners in six drives. He is also tied with Rudy Sialana for first place in the trainers’ standings with three winners each. Pena drove Positron, a 6-year-old horse owned by Andrew Taylor of Whittier, to victory in Saturday’s feature, a $12,000 invitational for pacers. . . . Brilliant Colors, who won the $75,000 California Pace for fillies last October, won Friday’s $9,000 filly and mare invitational. She is owned by Richard Staley of Los Angeles. . . . Drivers Greg Wright Jr. and Lloyd Higgins were involved in a spill shortly after the start of the 10th race Saturday. Higgins was driving Mister Sparks, who fell shortly after the start. Wright, on the outside with Garcon Du Jour, also fell. Neither the drivers nor the horses were injured.