BREEDER’S CUP : TURF : Right at Home at Santa Anita : Kotashaan gives jockey Desormeaux his first victory in the series and trainer Mandella his second winner of the day.

Ask Richard Mandella about candidates for horse of the year, and he says there shouldn’t even be a debate.

Because of Kotashaan’s victory in the $2-million Turf and the failures of Dehere and Bertrando in the Juvenile and Classic, respectively, the trainer has a case.

Providing Kent Desormeaux with his first Breeders’ Cup victory, Kotashaan beat Bien Bien by a half-length and made it a 1-2 sweep for the home team. Covering the 1 1/2 miles in 2:25, the 5-year-old Darshaan horse scored his sixth victory in nine tries on the Santa Anita course and has six victories and two seconds in nine starts this year.

And he isn’t done yet. Next up is the Japan Cup on Nov. 28, which will be his first start for his new owners. Japanese interests bought Kotashaan recently for an undisclosed figure from owner Alain Wertheimer and his family. Kotashaan will be shipped to Japan on Nov. 16 and Mandella will be there to saddle him for the race.

“I’m going to be there for six days and I’m going to campaign to keep him running next year,” the trainer said. “How can you beat him (for horse of the year)? It’s as simple as that.

“I was thinking a couple of years ago that I was never going to win a million-dollar race, and now I get two in one day. Kent rode a masterful race.”

As usual, Kotashaan was reserved well off the pace being set by Luazur most of the way, while Bien Bien was also kept in the clear but was closer to the lead under Chris McCarron.

Kotashaan and Bien Bien moved in unison entering the stretch with Kotashaan, the 3-2 favorite, again outkicking Bien Bien, the 4-1 third choice. In three other meetings at Santa Anita, Kotashaan beat Bien Bien by 3 1/2 lengths when second to Star Of Cozzene in the San Marcos Handicap, by 1 1/4 lengths in the San Luis Rey, then by a nose in the San Juan Capistrano in April.

“I’m always happy after a stakes win, but I was shaking so much coming to the wire in this one,” Desormeaux said. “I was praying, hoping that I would get there, so all I did was hold on after I got there.

“He came to Bien Bien very strong, but when we initially came to him, Bien Bien went on and I said to myself, ‘Oh, my God, we’re not going to get by him.’ Finally, I switched to left hand (whipping) and got an extra ounce out of Kotashaan and he went on and won it.”

The Turf was one of two tough losses on a frustrating day for McCarron. He lost the Distaff on Paseana by a nose, then rode Flawlessly and Dehere.

“He just got beat by the best turf horse in the country,” McCarron said. “At the three-eighths pole, I asked (Bien Bien) to run, and he gave a great feeling that he might be able to hold on, but Kotashaan nailed him in the end. He just can’t beat that horse.”