HOLLYWOOD PARK : Turf Cup Has a Field of 14 Possibilities, Parme Favored

With Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Northern Spur missing the race because of what was said to be a cough, today’s $500,000 Hollywood Turf Cup has no Eclipse Award implications.

Still, the Grade I race over 1 1/2 miles has a full field of 14 and is wide open.

For example, Parme, a European import making his first start in this country, is the 7-2 choice on Russell Hudak’s morning line.

Purchased after his last race by C.N. and Carol Ray’s Evergreen Farm, Parme has four wins in 12 starts, including three of four this year. He is one of only two horses in the field--along with Suave Tern--who won his last start. He won Group III in France on Oct. 25 and will be ridden today by Corey Nakatani. The Blushing Groom colt is trained by Jenine Sahadi.

Earl Of Barking, who has done his best work over the Hollywood Park turf course, is the 9-2 second choice. Second behind Fastness when the latter set a course record in the Citation Handicap last month, Earl Of Barking has four victories, a second and four thirds in 10 starts at Hollywood. Earlier this year, he won the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Turf Handicap at 24-1. Goncalino Almeida will again be aboard.

If Chris McCarron is to keep his hot streak going in the Turf Cup, he is going to have to win with a long shot. Set to ride Northern Spur, McCarron, who has won this race six times and three of the last four, picked up 12-1 outsider Party Season when Northern Spur was declared out.

Trainer Bobby Frankel, who, surprisingly, has never won the Turf Cup, entered two horses--the filly Privity and The Key Rainbow.

A winner of two of seven in Europe, The Key Rainbow was seventh in the Volante at Santa Anita in his first American race, then improved at Hollywood Park. He finished second to Flying Marfa, but made up a lot of ground late after the winner set very slow fractions. Laffit Pincay will ride.

The field also includes Royal Chariot, who won the Del Mar Invitational Handicap at 1 3/8 miles; 1994 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Tikkanen, who has failed to win in five starts this year; Shrewd Idea; Kiri’s Clown, the probable pacesetter; the Rodney Rash-trained duo of Rifapour and Celtic Arms; Hollywood Dream and Talloires.

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Another day, another stakes win for Gary Stevens.

The nation’s leader in that category--well ahead of Jerry Bailey--Stevens added to his total when Powis Castle rallied from far off the pace to catch an unlucky Lucky Forever and win the $102,925 Vernon O. Underwood Breeders’ Cup Stakes Saturday at Hollywood Park.

Powis Castle’s sixth victory in 21 starts was Stevens’ 52nd stakes win of the year and continued what has been a torrid run for him in Inglewood. He has won with 24 of 82 mounts and the Underwood was his seventh stakes success in the first 19 days of the 30-day meeting.

Looking for his third win in five starts on the main track, Lucky Forever outsprinted 9-5 favorite Wild Gold for the early lead through some torrid fractions (21 1/5 and 43 2/5 for half a mile), shook two lengths clear after running five furlongs in 55 3/5, then weakened late and was beaten by half a length in 1:08 2/5.

Trained by Rash for owner Berry Gordy’s Vistas Stables, Powis Castle had been a troubled fifth in the Hollywood Turf Express, but the 4-year-old Rare Brick colt is much better on the dirt. He has only one win in five tries on grass.

“He didn’t get much of an opportunity to run the last eighth of a mile [in the Turf Express] and I felt that if he got the right trip today, he would get the job done,” said Stevens. “With a sixteenth of a mile left, I felt like I was going to get there. The last 50 yards [Lucky Forever] just hit a brick wall.”

Stevens has performed at a peak level all year even though he isn’t 100% physically. He has been bothered by pain in his left knee, stemming from an incident while he was riding in Hong Kong, and also has some soreness in his hip.

He’ll visit the doctor on Monday, then will try to do something to remedy the knee problem the final week of the meeting, but says he will be back to ride on closing day, Dec. 24.

Looking for his fifth victory in his last six starts, Wild Gold wound up fourth after being outrun early, two lengths behind Powis Castle. Plenty Zloty, at 14-1, was third, followed by Gundaghia, Forest Gazelle, Remarfable and, in something less than an upset, Cyrano Storme, who was last, keeping him winless in three tries on the dirt.

Horse Racing Notes

Powis Castle paid $10 as the 4-1 third choice, and the $62,300 check increased his career earnings to $506,788. . . . Hollywood Park is offering free coffee and doughnuts to anyone who would like to watch the implosion of the Park Plaza Hotel this morning. The implosion is set to take place at 8:30 a.m. . . . Short fields are likely for both the $250,000 Hollywood Starlet on Saturday and the $500,000 Hollywood Futurity a week from today. There are only four probables for the Starlet, which will be topped by Advancing Star, who is perfect in two starts. The other three are Cara Rafaela, who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, California Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Wheatly Special and Chile Chattte. The probable starters for the Futurity are Hennessy, Remsen upsetter Tropicool, Exetera, Ayrton S and Matty G, who would have to be supplemented for $25,000. . . . Alex Solis had three winners Saturday and Stevens and Chris Antley had two apiece.