SANTA ANITA : Bengal Bay Gives His New Owners Money’s Worth

Fans of Bengal Bay shouldn’t fret if they miss him in the $109,800 El Conejo Handicap today at Santa Anita. They may get a chance to see him again Monday in the $200,000 San Luis Obispo Handicap.

Trainer Barry Abrams, who has kept Bengal Bay busy since claiming him for $12,500 on Nov. 3, will run the son of Woodman in the 5 1/2-furlong El Conejo this afternoon after entering him this morning in the 1 1/2-mile San Luis Obispo on the turf.

Whether Bengal Bay, who ran seven times in one 56-day period, competes in both races depends on a couple of factors. “We’ll see how he comes out of the (El Conejo), but we won’t run in the San Luis Obispo if Bien Bien runs,” said Abrams, a former standardbred trainer.

“If Bien Bien doesn’t run, the field, except for Fanmore, isn’t that strong. Most of them are $100,000 claimers in my mind.”

Owned by Abrams’ brother, David, and Vic Johnson, Bengal Bay has already proved to be a bargain buy. After winning only one of his first nine starts in 1993 for owner 505 Farms and trainer Mark MacDonald, Bengal Bay has won three of seven for Abrams and earned $81,975 while moving up the claiming ladder.

In his most recent appearance, he beat $100,000 claimers by six lengths, six days after beating allowance horses by 1 1/4 lengths at 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Running with minimal rest hasn’t bothered the former $425,000 yearling purchase. He made his first three starts for Abrams in a span of nine days. After finishing fourth on Dec. 11 and Dec. 15, he won against $32,000 claimers on Dec. 19.

“He thrives on racing,” said Abrams, who went out on his own with thoroughbreds last summer after serving as Roger Stein’s assistant for nearly three years. “When he ran three times in nine days, his third race was the best of the three.”

Highly regarded before his debut, Bengal Bay had basically been a bust through the first 16 races of his career and had worked his way down to the $12,500 level, one step from the bottom at Santa Anita, when Abrams claimed him.

“The race when he broke his maiden (on Nov. 15, 1992) stuck in my mind,” Abrams said. “He won going seven (furlongs by nearly two lengths in 1:21 3/5) and he showed the same burst of speed he did when he won the $100,000 claimer (on Feb. 5).

“I wasn’t sure what I had, because he ran fourth the day I claimed him. Physically, he seemed OK, but he had some back problems. We worked with him, his back got looser and looser and he got more comfortable.”

The late-running Bengal Bay is the co-sixth choice at 8-1 in the eight-horse El Conejo, which will mark his stakes debut. The 3-1 favorite is Scherando, third in the Palos Verdes Handicap behind Concept Win and J.F. Williams, who will skip this race, in his last start.

“This horse can run any distance on any track,” Abrams said. “That’s the great thing about him. I wouldn’t trade horses with anybody in this race. He’s won three times in the last two months, and nobody else in there has won (since Nov. 27).

“This horse hasn’t run to his best yet. I don’t know how good he is. He’s got the breeding and the class to be any kind of horse.”