OAK TREE : Northern Spur Gives McAnally Real Contender

Before Sunday, trainer Ron McAnally was facing the possibility of not having a horse in the Breeders’ Cup for the first time since 1988.

But after the day’s races at Santa Anita, McAnally might have three contenders at Belmont Park on Oct. 28: Northern Spur, who outfinished the 3-5 favorite, Sandpit, in the $300,000 Oak Tree Invitational; and Future Quest and Exetera, who finished first and third, respectively, in the $200,000 Norfolk Stakes.

“Charles Cella has paid his dues, so we should be going [to the $2-million Breeders’ Cup Turf] with Northern Spur,” McAnally said. The 63-year-old trainer and Verne Winchell, who owns Future Quest and Exetera, will take their time deciding whether one or both of those colts runs in the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Cella, who owns Oaklawn Park, bought Northern Spur for $1.3 million, mainly because the Irish-bred colt had run second last year to Carnegie, who won the Arc de Triomphe, France’s premier race, less than a month later.

Northern Spur’s debut in Cella’s red, white and blue colors resulted in a third-place finish in the Eddie Read Handicap at Del Mar this August, and McAnally threw out a 10th-place finish in the Arlington Million, three weeks later, because the horse bled considerably from the lungs.

Treated with the diuretic Lasix prior to the 1 1/4-mile Oak Tree, Northern Spur stalked Sandpit, who won the stake last year, and passed him on the final bend. Sandpit tried to rally, but he was beaten by 1 1/2 lengths at the wire. Royal Chariot finished third, 4 1/2 lengths behind Northern Spur. Ridden by Chris McCarron, Northern Spur paid $11.40 as the second betting choice, earned $180,000 and was clocked in 2:02 1/5.

McCarron began a five-day suspension Sunday, but he was able to ride in the Oak Tree because of the California designated-race rule that permits suspended jockeys to ride in major races.

Sandpit, who has four victories and three seconds in eight starts this year, was pushed hard by Northern Spur down the backstretch.

“He never got comfortable,” jockey Corey Nakatani said. “He never switched [lead feet]. He ran on his left lead the whole way.”

In the 1 1/16-mile Norfolk, Future Quest, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, was a head better than Odyle, who had a neck on Exetera. Future Quest also won the Del Mar Futurity by a head under Desormeaux. The Winchell-McAnally entry went off at 13-10. The Winner’s time was 1:43 1/5.

“Future Quest’s not very big and he’s compact,” McAnally said. “Exetera is a picture looking horse. But you know that doesn’t win races. Alex Solis [who has ridden both horses and was aboard Exetera Sunday] said that he still prefers Exetera.”