DEL MAR : Least Likely Frankel Horse Wins Palomar

Trainer Bobby Frankel had three horses entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Palomar Handicap. The seeming best of them, the one with graded stakes credentials, was Skimble. She was scratched, leaving Nidd and Shir Dar, neither of whom had run a stakes race since 1993.

Of the Frankel survivors, Shir Dar was the longshot.

Naturally, Shir Dar was the winner. Jockey Corey Nakatani steered her through a hole in mid-stretch and got her home ahead of Baby Diamonds, who paid $20.40 to place. Shir Dar paid $13.40 to win. Prying finished third.

Shir Dar had placed in five of her six starts this year, all at the allowance level, but nothing suggested she was ready to handle a Grade II race seemingly full of speed over 1 1/16th-miles. Of course, the absence of Skimble did not hurt her chances, nor anyone else’s.

What happened was that the speed did not manifest itself. Jockey Walter Guerra took Baby Diamonds, 23-1 on the toteboard, to the lead and set crawling fractions.

“Nobody wanted the lead,” Guerra said, “so I took it. I slowed it down as best as I could and tried to take advantage of her light weight (110 pounds).”

Nakatani, meanwhile, took Shir Dar to the back of the pack and settled into a patient pace.

“She placed herself well,” Nakatani said. “She was nice and relaxed. I moved her up on the backside and moved her into position on the turn. All I needed was a play to go.”

Patrick Valenzuela had Vinista on the rail with Baby Diamonds holding the lead on the outside of her. When Baby Diamonds drifted out, Nakatani had the opening he needed to hit the accelerator. He moved her through and won by three-quarters of a length.

It has been that kind of a meet for Nakatani, who is closing in on his first riding title. He had two winners Saturday and his 46 victories leads Gary Stevens by eight. The Palomar was his fifth stakes victory here.

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D’hallevant, who figures on the pace of today’s $200,000 Del Mar Budweiser Breeders’ Cup, is the 2-1 morning line favorite in the one-mile race for 3-year-olds and up. He went wire-to-wire under Corey Nakatani, today’s rider, in the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien Handicap and it’s a matter of whether he can hang on for that last furlong.

Second choice, at 5-2, is Kingdom Found, another winner at this meet. Kingdom Found, ridden by Chris McCarron, won the San Diego Handicap on July 30.

The most celebrated entrant, however, is Brocco, a 3-year-old who has not run since finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby. He won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile championship last year and figured to be a factor in the Triple Crown races.

“I’m trying to get him fit enough for some big races down the road,” said Randy Winick, Brocco’s trainer, alluding to Breeders’ Cup racing on Nov. 5. “I would like to have given him one more good mile blowout had the meet been one week longer, but we’ll work with what we’ve got.”

Brocco, who will be ridden by Gary Stevens, is listed at 7-2.

The other entries are Lykatill Hil, 4-1, Eddie Delahoussaye; Tossofthecoin, 8-1, Laffit Pincay Jr.; and Stuka, 8-1, Kent Desormeaux.

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The second race on the program, the $60,000 Live the Dream, was more interesting than most minor stakes races because of the presence of the mare User Friendly. She was the European horse of the year in 1993 and made her U.S. debut with an allowance victory here in July. She then finished last in the Beverly D two weeks ago at Chicago. Indeed, trainer Rodney Rash thought so highly of her that he would have run her in the Arlington Million had she drawn in.

User Friendly may have been the horse with the reputation, but the hot horse coming into the 1 3/8-mile turf race was another import. Sandpit, a Brazilian import with one allowance race here, went off as the favorite and rallied in the stretch to post his first U.S. victory.

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All of the jockeys were applauded after the sixth race on the card, a circumstance which might have been unusual if it was REALLY the sixth race. The Rocking Chair Derby, featuring retired jockeys, was revived for the first time since 1978.

The real comeback among the comebacks was 50-year-old Danny Velasquez, who rallied Zee Bee around the final turn and defeated Rudy Campas and Electro by three-quarters of a length. Frank Olivares, riding Bettys Big Boy, finished third.

There was no betting on the race, but there was a $20,000 purse and all horses ran with a $32,000 claiming tag. What’s more, the pace was equal to any on the card with fractions of 21 4/5 and 45 2/5. The retired jocks may not be as fast as they used to be, but they can still go along for a ride.

Horse Racing Notes

A.J. Jett, a 2-year-old from Canada, took a rather roundabout route to Del Mar for Wednesday’s Del Mar Futurity. He was vanned from Vancouver to Seattle, flown to Ohio and then back to Los Angeles for another van ride. He has won five of six starts. . . .Eddie Delahoussaye’s return from injuries suffered a week ago was delayed until today. . . .Phone Chatter, a winner in a comeback race here on Aug. 25, makes another start Monday in the Vieille Vigne Handicap.