HOLLYWOOD PARK : Eclipse Winners to Square Off

Barring a sudden cough or some other minor problem surfacing at the last minute, Hollywood Wildcat will finally return to the races in the $150,000 Gamely Handicap at Hollywood Park on Sunday.

Idle since her five-race winning streak ended when she was third in the La Canada Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 5, the Eclipse Award winner as the nation’s top 3-year-old filly in 1993 will challenge Flawlessly in the Gamely, at 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

Flawlessly, the two-time Eclipse winner as the nation’s premier female grass performer, is also making her comeback in the Grade I event. The 6-year-old Affirmed mare hasn’t raced since winning the Matriarch on Nov. 28 and is unbeaten in six starts on the Hollywood Park turf.

The last time two Eclipse champions faced each other at Hollywood Park was in the 1988 Gold Cup. Alysheba, the 3-year-old champion of 1987, finished second behind Cutlass Reality as Ferdinand, the top older male of ‘87, was third.

Scheduled to run in the Hawthorne Handicap on May 29, Hollywood Wildcat was scratched by trainer Neil Drysdale when she coughed before the race. She then was expected to come back in the Milady Handicap, which like the Hawthorne is run on the main track, on June 26, but Drysdale chose the Gamely.

“She’s been ready to run for three weeks,” the trainer said. “She’s equally adept on both grass and dirt. The surface is not the matter. It’s a matter of timing, and this race has come up and she’s ready to run.”

In a campaign that culminated in a nose victory over Paseana in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Hollywood Wildcat won two races on the turf in 1993. She won a division of the San Clemente Handicap at Del Mar, then returned three weeks later to win the Del Mar Oaks.

Lightly raced the last two years, Flawlessly has been training steadily since early March for her latest comeback and capped her preparation for the Gamely with a 1:01 five-furlong workout Wednesday.

“It was a super work,” said Tim Yakteen, trainer Charlie Whittingham’s assistant. Whittingham will be back from New York to saddle Flawlessly.

Winner of 13 of 17 starts, Flawlessly will carry 124 pounds, two more than Hollywood Wildcat.

The entrants also include Bel’s Starlet, Skimble, Empress Club, Dis Moi Tout and Maryland invader Mz. Zill Bear.

Corrazona, who is perfect in two American starts for trainer Richard Mandella, was going to run in the Gamely but had a minor setback. “She jarred an ankle,” Mandella said. “We had it X-rayed and the X-rays were clean. Hopefully, we’ll have her ready to run in the Beverly Hills (Handicap on July 3).”

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Gothland, who finished second behind longshot Blues Traveller in the Rolling Green Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on May 14, is the 2-1 favorite against five opponents in the $100,000-added Inglewood Handicap at Hollywood Park today.

Winner of two of five starts in the United States for trainer Wally Dollase, Gothland will be making his first appearance at Hollywood Park. He will be ridden by Corey Nakatani.

Norwich, upset winner of the El Rincon Handicap at Santa Anita before he finished fifth in the Shoemaker Handicap three weeks ago, is the 5-2 second choice. The other entrants in the 1 1/16-mile turf race are Rapan Boy, Johann Quatz, Savinio and Bon Point.