HOLLYWOOD PARK : The Wicked North Sets Record

Any doubt about The Wicked North being the best handicap horse in the nation was dispelled by his performance in the $300,000 Californian at Hollywood Park on Sunday.

The 5-year-old son of Far North’s neck victory over Kingdom Found in a track record 1:46 3/5 for 1 1/8 miles was probably his finest hour. The old track record of 1:46 4/5 was set by Sabona in the 1989 Californian and equaled by Latin American in last year’s race.

Never particularly calm in the paddock or going to the gate, The Wicked North appeared more stirred up than usual Sunday. Then, as the field was preparing to enter the starting gate, Hill Pass’ trainer, Jack Van Berg, revealed that his horse was carrying the wrong weight.

Due to the allowance conditions of the Californian, the 13-1 longshot was to carry 116 pounds, but the program said 114. Gary Stevens rides at 115, so the necessary adjustment had to be made.

“(Van Berg) called and said he thought his horse was carrying less than he should have,” steward Pete Pedersen said. “We checked the conditions and he was absolutely right--the least a horse could carry was 116. We were duty-bound to see the horse carry the right weight, so we called him in and made the correction.”

After breaking from the rail, The Wicked North was content to stalk the pace set by Slew Of Damascus, but it looked like he might fade when he dropped back to third around the turn while Kingdom Found, an 8-1 shot, joined the leader.

Instead, Kent Desormeaux was simply waiting to get The Wicked North to the outside. Once he did, the 4-5 favorite took off for his eighth victory in 16 starts. He has earned $1,124,500 for owners Phil and Sophie Hersh.

“Boy, he overcame some obstacles today,” Desormeaux said. “That (10-minute) pre-race delay was a big one as far as my horse was concerned. He comes to the gate decent, but comes away crazy. So, every time he was turned away from the gate, he would freak out again.

“Man, he ran a couple of races today. I’m sure he’ll sleep well tonight. He’ll be shriveled up like a raisin.

“I was still wondering if we were going to win until about 10 strides before the wire. . . . He showed just how special he is.”

Trainer David Bernstein agreed the Californian was The Wicked North’s best race, but he wasn’t happy about the delay.

“It irritated me,” he said. “This kind of snafu shouldn’t happen in a Grade I race like this, especially at a track like Hollywood Park.

“But he overcame everything and won. I’m proud of the horse. He set a track record and that’s one of the kind of things he hadn’t done and I think people were saying, ‘This isn’t a really good horse, that Holy Bull is fantastic,’ but this horse only does what he has to to win. This is the most he’s overcome in a race.”

Kingdom Found, who lost a shoe when last in the John Henry Handicap on turf in his previous race, finished 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Slew Of Damascus.

“He ran great, he just got outrun the last sixteenth of a mile,” jockey Chris McCarron said.

“The winner is the best handicap horse in the country right now, and he had to break the track record to beat Kingdom Found.”