DEL MAR : Lakeway Heads Into Telling Stretch

For more than half of 1994, Lakeway was the best 3-year-old filly in the country.

She won four Grade I stakes, three in California and the other in New York, and proved herself capable of going short or long.

But Lakeway has not won in nearly 14 months, having spent most of that time trying to recover from a disastrous trip to Saratoga.

After easily winning the Mother Goose there, the daughter of Seattle Slew was beaten in the Alabama by Heavenly Prize, who won the Eclipse Award as the 3-year-old filly champion.

“She worked super when she got [to Saratoga], but her allergies really kicked up in that jungle back there because it’s so different from what she’s used to,” said trainer Gary Jones of Lakeway. “We [examined] her and found that her trachea was filled with pus.

“I probably brought her home [to California] too quick and she came down with pneumonia.”

Allergies had been an ongoing problem for Lakeway, and when she got sick, owner Mike Rutherford and Jones decided to give her plenty of time to recover.

Lakeway will run the second of what Jones and Rutherford hope will be four 1995 starts Sunday in the $300,000 Chula Vista Handicap at 1 1/16 miles.

After finishing third in her comeback sprint, the Rancho Bernardo Breeders’ Cup Handicap, Lakeway is expected to improve Sunday, but it remains to be seen whether she can approach the form she had at her peak.

If Lakeway wins the Chula Vista against a field that will include Top Rung, Borodislew and Wild Lightning, among others, or barely gets beat, the plan is to run her in the Spinster on Oct. 8 at Keeneland. Then, after that, if all goes well, the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Oct. 28 at Belmont Park.

A victory Sunday would be a lift for Jones, who hasn’t had one of his better meetings. Things did perk up Thursday when he won twice with favorites Maelstrom in the fourth and Lucky Difference in the sixth. That doubled his victory total of the first 31 days.

“Babe Ruth had [slumps], Mickey Mantle had them and Gary Jones is going to have them,” he said. “This won’t be the last time it’s going to happen. To have a good meeting here, you have to have a strong group of 2-year-olds and I don’t have that this year.”

Horse Racing Notes

Longtime horse owner Lord Gordon White, 72, died recently of a lung disease. White has had horses with various trainers, among them Gary Jones, Richard Cross, Neil Drysdale and Mike Mitchell. One of his horses, Turbulent Dancer, may be a starter in the Del Mar Derby. . . . Unstarted anywhere but Del Mar, Profit Margin made it four consecutive victories Thursday, beating Flying Standby by a neck in the $75,700 Inverness Drive and giving Chris McCarron his third victory of the day.