HOLLYWOOD PARK : Explosive Red, 22-1 Shot, Wins by 1 1/4 Lengths

A horse who has been either very good or very bad lately was at his best Saturday as Explosive Red, a 22-1 shot from Canada, won the $400,000 Hollywood Derby by 1 1/4 lengths.

This summer, Explosive Red ran two solid races at Arlington International, winning the American Derby and finishing second in the Secretariat Stakes. Last month, over his home track at Woodbine, the 3-year-old son of Explodent was badly beaten twice. In his last start, in the $1-million Rothmans International on Oct. 17, Explosive Red set the pace and then faded to ninth, beaten by 36 1/2 lengths.

Owner Frank Stronach intended to send Explosive Red to California trainer Gary Jones anyway, so the Hollywood Derby jibed with that plan.

Jones came away from Saturday’s race wondering whether the glass was half full or half empty. Besides Explosive Red, he will also begin training Sharman, who ran 12th Saturday, but Jones’ Fatherland broke down in the race and died after surgery on his left foreleg later that night.

Fatherland, a champion 2-year-old in Ireland, was the 5-1 second choice in the Hollywood Derby. In heavy traffic under Adalberto Lopez near the three- eighths pole, he was bumped by another horse and the leg snapped.

Before his last two races, Explosive Red had been extremely consistent, usually picking up at least a part of the purse. Saturday’s victory was his sixth in 22 starts and the $220,000 purse increased his earnings to $763,931. He ran the 1 1/8 miles on grass in 1:46 4/5, two-fifths of a second slower than the stakes record.

Explosive Red, ridden by Corey Nakatani, paid $46.60 and combined with another 22-1 shot, Jeune Homme, for a $2 exacta worth $1,191.60. Jeune Homme finished second, a neck better than Earl Of Barking, in the 14-horse field. The favored entry of Guide and Eastern Memories ran seventh and 13th, respectively.

Ken Barber, acting for Stronach’s Canadian trainer, Danny Vella, didn’t plan to see Explosive Red behind anyone in the early going, but Eastern Memories, under Jerry Bailey, made the lead.

“I told Nakatani to get to the lead by the first turn,” Barber said. “I was shocked when he wasn’t on the lead, but everything still turned out good.”

On the far turn, Explosive Red left Eastern Memories behind with a quick move. About 1 1/2 lengths ahead at the top of the stretch, he protected his lead as Jeune Homme and Earl Of Barking surged.

“I’m not surprised that he won,” Nakatani said. “I had ridden against this horse at Arlington and I knew he was tough. My plan was to let Jerry (Bailey) go if he wanted to, but I wasn’t going to let us kill each other on the lead. Every time I asked him for some run, he came up with it. I didn’t even have to hit him. I just showed him the whip five or six times and he responded like a winner.”

Hollywood Park’s grass course was firm, unlike the soft going that Explosive Red faced in the Rothmans.

“He didn’t handle the track at Woodbine,” Barber said. “It was sort of a speed duel. A horse went head and head with him on a deep turf and it was just too much for him. The course was deep for the Secretariat at Arlington, too, but he handled it better because he wasn’t pushed all the way. I galloped this horse all year, and I’m disappointed that he’s not going home with me.”

Neither trainer Bob Hess Jr. nor jockey Kent Desormeaux blamed Guide’s race on his unruly paddock behavior. The Del Mar Derby winner reared high above his handlers shortly before Desormeaux boarded him.

“If you can believe it, this was the best he’s been before a race,” Hess said. “The best horse won, and we have no excuses.”

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In another grass stake on Saturday’s card, the $200,000 Hollywood Turf Express at 5 1/2 furlongs, Wild Harmony beat Robin Des Pins by a nose to give owners Jerry and Ann Moss their second important victory. The other came at Bay Meadows, where the French-bred Dis Moi Tout won the $100,000 Carmel Handicap for her first victory in the United States. Chris Antley, who had been named to ride Bon Point for Bobby Frankel in the Hollywood Derby, went to Bay Meadows instead and rode Dis Moi Tout for the same trainer.

Wild Harmony, who won the Hollywood Breeders’ Cup Handicap in July at the same distance as Saturday’s, was ahead of only one horse after a quarter of a mile and won despite a horrible trip that was caused by Tsunami Spangler bolting to the outside on the far turn.

“When Tsunami Spangler went to the (outside) fence, Alex (Solis) was able to pull him back in,” said Chris McCarron, who rode Wild Harmony. “That put (Robin Des Pins) and I in real tight, and I hit the fence. My horse bounced off the rail at the three-eighths pole. I don’t know how much momentum he lost, but I steadied real hard, yet he came on real well. He was definitely the best horse in this race.”

Trainer Brian Mayberry had wanted to to run Wild Harmony in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 6, but after a fourth-place finish in the Ancient Title Handicap there on Oct. 17, the 4-year-old colt didn’t qualify for the capacity field.

Wild Harmony was timed in 1:01 4/5, earned $110,000 and paid $8 as the second choice. Western Approach, the only filly in the field and the 9-10 favorite, led at the top of the stretch before finishing fifth.

Horse Racing Notes

After the result of the ninth race was declared official, a tote problem resulted in a 27-minute delay before the prices were posted. With three simulcast races from Bay Meadows added to 10 live races, the Hollywood Park program lasted more than 5 1/2 hours, ending at about 6:10 p.m. . . . Eddie Delahoussaye, scheduled to ride Fatherland in the Hollywood Derby and Robin Des Pins in the Turf Express, sat out for the second consecutive day because of flu. . . . Sir Hutch won the six-furlong seventh race in 1:08, tying the track record set by Sam Who in 1989 and matched by Star Of The Crop last year. . . . Dennis and Margaret Marks, the owners of Let’s Elope, have switched trainers, from Ron McAnally to Charlie Whittingham. Let’s Elope, the 13-10 favorite in the Yellow Ribbon at Santa Anita last Sunday, finished 10th and bled from the lungs despite running with Lasix.