OAK TREE AT SANTA ANITA : Bertrando to Be Supplemented to Breeders’ Cup

Bertrando will be supplemented to the Breeders’ Cup for the third time.

Co-owners Ed Nahem and Marshall Naify will put up $360,000 to run the 5-year-old Skywalker horse in the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the second consecutive year. Bertrando was second to Arcangues in last year’s Classic and, before that, was second to Arazi in the 1991 Juvenile.

“The first payment has already been met,” Nahem said. “It’s a lot of money, but we think we can win it.

“The race here (the $250,000 California Cup Classic on Saturday) isn’t that much easier. It’s fair to say that’s one reason we decided to go to (Churchill Downs). But again, the main thing is we think we can win the race.”

Gary Stevens will ride Bertrando, who won the Goodwood Handicap eight days ago, in the Classic. The California-bred is scheduled to work six furlongs at Hollywood Park either today or Monday and will ship to Kentucky on Nov. 1.

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Able to win only six races the first 14 days of the Oak Tree meeting, Chris Antley came up with four victories Saturday, including a wire-to-wire score aboard 9-2 shot Newton’s Law in the $82,500 Henry P. Russell Handicap.

Antley replaced Corey Nakatani, who was sidelined for the second consecutive day after being thrown during a Friday morning work, on Newton’s Law. Antley slowed the pace, then had enough left to beat 17-1 shot Stark South by a half-length in 2:01 3/5 for the 1 1/4 miles on turf.

It was the second consecutive victory for the 4-year-old Law Society colt, who had gone winless in his first seven U.S. starts after arriving from France.

Seahawk Gold was third, 1 1/2 lengths behind Stark South, and he finished a bit more than two lengths in front of Inner City, the 7-5 favorite.

“Not a bad pick-up ride, eh?” said Antley, who also won the first on Rosky, the fifth on Ferrara and the ninth on What A Spell. “Maybe he didn’t get a whole lot of faith coming in because in threw in that one bad race in his start before last (finishing eighth of nine on Aug. 15 at Del Mar).

“But it looks like he’s just coming around. His last race was super and he ran the same race back. He did get a comfortable enough lead. I asked him a little bit leaving the gate, then he got to running. I coasted on him until he was challenged. He dug in when challenged and wouldn’t let (Stark South) by him.”

Kent Desormeaux, who rode the favorite, said his horse was fine until the field hit the stretch.

“The track was nice and firm, like going over I-10, but it changes about 70 yards before the eighth pole,” Desormeaux said. “It turns into an absolute bog. It’s yielding. I thought I was going to win by 10, but when we hit the bog, he fell apart. He just wouldn’t quicken again.”

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Numerous, who has been more hype than performance for most of his career, is the 5-2 favorite against eight other 3-year-olds in the $110,800 Volante Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the turf today at Santa Anita.

Fifth in the Del Mar Derby, but moved up to fourth after the disqualification of Eagle Eyed, Numerous, a $1.7-million yearling, has won three of nine starts, but only one stakes. He beat a weak field in the Derby Trial on April 30 at Churchill Downs.

Chris McCarron will ride the Mr. Prospector colt, who has a victory and the fourth in the Del Mar Derby in two grass starts.

Powis Castle, who apparently didn’t care for the track at Woodbine, where he was sixth in the Molson Million, is the 4-1 second choice. The Rare Brick colt won a division of the Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar and was moved up to third by the stewards in the Del Mar Derby.

The others in the field are Set On Cruise, the upset winner of the Pomona Derby; Blue King, who won two of nine while racing in France; Run Softly, Marvin’s Faith; Turbo Fan, who will race coupled with Blue King; Jacques Aboard and Alphabet Soup.

Horse Racing Notes

Re Toss, who upset Paseana in the 1993 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park and was third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, has been retired. The 7-year-old will serve as a broodmare at Taylor Made Farm in Lexington. She finished her career with earnings of $907,536 and won nine of 42 starts. . . . For the second time in three weeks, there was only one winning ticket in the National Best Seven. It paid $116,138.70. Only one favorite--Sadies Dream in the Best of Ohio Distaff at Beulah Park--won during the sequence.