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SANTA ANITA : Big ‘Cap Has Enough Subplots to Fill a Dick Francis Mystery

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Gary Stevens has ridden Urgent Request once before--they finished fifth last year in the Rothmans International at Woodbine near Toronto--but because today’s million-dollar Santa Anita Handicap will be the first race on dirt for the 5-year-old Irish-bred, the veteran jockey is in the dark.

“It’s a mystery to me how he’ll run on dirt,” said Stevens, back temporarily from Hong Kong, where he is under contract to ride until June. Stevens won the Big ‘Cap in 1990-91 with Ruhlmann and Farma Way, becoming the first jockey with consecutive winners since Bill Shoemaker with Lucky Debonair and Pretense in 1966-67.

Get Dick Francis, because the 58th running of the Big ‘Cap is a mystery. Urgent Request is going from grass to mud, not dirt, and California’s latest winter storm is expected to make mudders out of several horses not experienced on off tracks.

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The list starts with Best Pal, who will be trying to join John Henry as the only two-time winners of the Big ‘Cap. Out of 40 races in a career that started in 1990, Best Pal has had only two starts on an off track. Those came in the San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita in 1991, when he finished a close third, ridden by Stevens, on a surface labeled good; and in the Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park last year, when he finished third.

Ian Jory was the horse’s trainer in 1990. Richard Mandella is the 7-year-old gelding’s trainer now, having taken over for Gary Jones about 10 months ago. Mandella has trained Best Pal over off tracks this winter and is not discouraged.

“The last thing I’d want is a heavy track,” Mandella said. “Then he’d have to struggle through. If there’s a good bottom under the slop, he should do all right.”

Best Pal usually comes from off the pace. Off tracks frequently favor front-running horses, and Mandella’s other hope in the race, Dare And Go, has that style and is expected to be a pace factor. Dare And Go, a grass horse until he ran third in the San Fernando and won the Strub Stakes at Santa Anita this season, has never run in mud.

“Dare And Go’s by Alydar, and that’s a good sign,” Mandella said. “(Alydar offspring) usually run well in the mud.”

Because Dare And Go has different ownership than Best Pal, he can be bet separately in the 11-horse field and is the 7-2 second choice, behind the Best Pal-Dramatic Gold entry, which is 6-5.

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It has been 14 years since the Big ‘Cap wasn’t run on a fast track, dating back to Spectacular Bid’s easy win in the slop in 1980. Of the 10 Big ‘Caps run on off tracks, only four were won by the favorites, and in 1941 a sloppy track contributed to Bay View’s record upset. The front-running 4-year-old gelding, carrying 108 pounds, paid $118.40 for his neck victory over the late-running Mioland, the high weight with 124 pounds.

Nancys French Fry, listed at 6-1 for the Big ‘Cap, has a catch-up style like Mioland’s and had a solid off-track race when he won the Kyne Handicap by 14 lengths at Bay Meadows on New Year’s Eve. Back at Santa Anita and on fast tracks, Nancys French Fry has been soundly beaten by Big ‘Cap horses. Del Mar Dennis beat trainer Vladimir Cerin’s roan gelding by 4 1/2 lengths in the San Pasqual Handicap and when Best Pal won the San Antonio Handicap, Nancys French Fry was fifth, six lengths back.

The San Antonio, an eighth of a mile shorter than today’s 1 1/4-mile distance, was Best Pal’s third victory in seven starts under Mandella. The trainer actually had mixed feelings last spring when the call came from Golden Eagle Farm, asking if he’d take the horse.

“I’d trained other horses for (John Mabee), so there was little question that I’d take (Best Pal),” Mandella said. “But the horse was getting old, and two guys before me had done good with him. What was I going to do after all he had already done? About the only thing I could do was screw up with him. So I was a little nervous when I got him.”

Overall, Best Pal has 17 wins, nine seconds and four thirds in 40 starts and his earnings of $5.2 million are third behind the retired Alysheba’s $6.6 million and John Henry’s $6.5 million.

Best Pal and Alysheba are even in one category--victories in million-dollar races. Best Pal won the Hollywood Futurity in 1990, the Pacific Classic at Del Mar in 1991 and the Santa Anita Handicap in 1992.

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“Best Pal’s as sound as any of the 60 horses I have,” Mandella said. “And he’s interested in only one thing: doing his job.”

Horse Racing Notes

Kent Desormeaux, who won the Santa Anita Handicap with Best Pal, will be aboard the longshot Puzar today. One of the owners of Puzar, Allen Paulson, won last year’s Big ‘Cap with Stuka after The Wicked North, with Desormeaux aboard, was disqualified and dropped from first to fourth place. . . . Desormeaux won four races Friday.

When Gary Stevens left for Hong Kong, Alex Solis replaced him aboard Dare And Go and won the Strub. With Solis retaining the mount on Dare And Go, Chris Antley gets the assignment on Del Mar Dennis. Antley rode Stuka a year ago.

Trainer Wayne Lukas will try to win two major races for 3-year-olds this weekend, today’s $500,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park and Sunday’s $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks. Thunder Gulch, who ran virtually off the plane from California in winning the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream three weeks ago, is the 9-5 favorite in the Florida Derby, which drew nine others. Next on the morning line at 2-1 is the three-horse Nick Zito-trained entry of Suave Prospect, Star Standard and Kresa. Suave Prospect missed by a neck in the Fountain of Youth. Lukas’ Serena’s Song has five rivals to beat as she tries to become the first filly to sweep the Santa Ynez, Las Virgenes and Santa Anita Oaks. Also running are Cat’s Cradle, second in the first two races, and Urbane, who was third in the Las Virgenes. Mari’s Sheba, Jewel Princess and Favored One complete the field.

Several of racing’s top executives are meeting at Dallas on Sunday to discuss the future of the Thoroughbred Racing Assns., the trade group that has been riddled by track resignations lately. Also on the agenda is a review of Brian McGrath, finishing his first year as TRA commissioner. The establishment of McGrath’s office has led to substantially higher dues for TRA members. David Vance, former president of the TRA, and Santa Anita’s Cliff Goodrich, the new president, are scheduled to participate in the meeting, along with R.D. Hubbard of Hollywood Park and Dick Duchossois of Arlington International. Duchossois is one of McGrath’s supporters. “One of the things we’re going to discuss is what authority Brian has and what authority he should have,” Duchossois said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BIG ‘CAP FIELD

The field for today’s Santa Anita Handicap, which will be run as the fifth race on the Santa Anita’s program at about 2:20 p.m.

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PP Horse Jockey Odds 1 Nancys French Fry F Valenzuela 6-1 2 Puzar Desormeaux 15-1 3 Dramatic Gold Nakatani 6-5 4 Urgent Request Stevens 8-1 5 Dare and Go Solis 7-2 6 College Town Pincay 12-1 7 City Nights J Garcia 30-1 8 Del Mar Dennis Antley 8-1 9 Johann Quatz Delahoussaye 20-1 10 Best Pal McCarron 6-5 11 Numerous Almeida 30-1

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