Kingdom Found Ends Jones’ Year on Winning Note

A frustrating year for trainer Gary Jones ended on an upbeat note Sunday when his veteran gelding, Kingdom Found, won the $71,075 Ack Ack Handicap.

Jones’ barn earned more than $3.2 million, and probably will finish eighth nationally, but the trainer, 51, felt a lot was missing.

“Unfortunately a few of my owners passed away, and they will be hard to replace,” Jones said. “On the track, there were an awful lot of second-place finishes. Maybe this win [Sunday] will turn the trend around.”

Two of the owners who died were Don Ameche and Ray Dilbeck, who bred Kingdom Found. The Ack Ack was the first victory for Minnie Dilbeck since her husband died.

Jones didn’t win any major races in 1995 and the filly who might have been his best horse, Lakeway, finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Seldom at 100% physically, Lakeway was retired with earnings of almost $1 million.

Among the six horses that Kingdom Found beat in the Ack Ack was Dramatic Gold, who was in the right spot early before finishing fifth as the 1-2 favorite. Dramatic Gold has earned $1.4 million, but he closed out 1995 with no wins in six starts and hasn’t won since taking the Molson Million at Woodbine more than 15 months ago.

Uncaged Fury, outrun by Kingdom Found and Kent Desormeaux through the stretch, finished second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Savinio. Dramatic Gold hauled high weight of 123 pounds, five more than Kingdom Found, who paid $15.

“This was a tough race for $70,000,” Jones said.

He had scratched his other horse, Luthier Fever.

“He’s got the same running style as Kingdom Found,” Jones said, “and I’ve got the San Pasqual sitting right there.”

Jones plans to run Luthier Fever in the $200,000 San Pasqual Handicap on Jan. 15.

The victory was Kingdom Found’s eighth in 20 starts. In the summer of 1994, he was a factor in some important races, losing by only a neck to The Wicked North in the Californian at Hollywood Park and winning the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. After getting knocked off by College Town in the California Cup Classic, he began 1995 slowly, and then was rested for six months because of a cannon-bone injury. Jones said that he might run Kingdom Found in the $300,000 San Antonio Handicap on Feb. 3.

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A half-hour after Kingdom Found’s victory, there was another surprise when Pareja, a maiden, won the filly division of the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths over To B. Super.

Pareja, trained by Cot Tinsley and ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye, had been close in all six of her previous starts, and finished second to Wheatly Special in the California Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita in November.

Pareja paid $18, running seven furlongs in 1:22 3/5. She went into the $100,750 race with $44,675 in purses and earned $66,750. Supercilious finished third and Wide Eyed Wanderer, the 13-10 favorite, finished fifth.

“This race was in a good spot for [Pareja] at this time of year,” Tinsley said. “She showed a lot of ability when she raced in the Cal Cup.”

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A lot of good horses have won the San Gabriel Handicap since it was first run in 1935, but no one has won the race twice. Romarin gets that chance today when he faces eight rivals, including Caesour, the 3-1 morning-line favorite. Romarin, the high weight at 119 pounds, is second choice at 7-2.

A year ago, Romarin was the 11-10 favorite when he beat Inner City by 1 1/4 lengths. Inner City is also running today, at 15-1.

Romarin’s only other win last year came in the Early Times Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in May. In his last start, the 6-year-old Brazilian-bred couldn’t hold a lead and finished fifth in the Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park.

Caesour, who is trained by Walter Greenman, was well-traveled in 1995, posting three victories and two seconds in eight starts at six tracks. In his only start at Santa Anita, last January, he won a one-mile allowance race.

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In another stake today, Twice The Vice is 8-5 to beat a field of fillies and mares in the Run for the Roses Handicap. At 121 pounds, Twice The Vice will spot the opposition between three and six pounds and give three pounds to Liberiana, a highly regarded Argentine import who makes her first start in the United States.

Corey Black will ride Twice The Vice instead of Gary Stevens, whose comeback from knee surgery has been delayed until next weekend.

Horse Racing Notes

Gary Jones, who scratched Ski Dancer rather than tackle Exotic Wood in Saturday’s La Brea Stakes, plans to run her in next Saturday’s Monrovia Handicap. . . . French Deputy was one of the most promising 3-year-olds in California last winter, winning by 11 lengths at Santa Anita in his second start. But he never made any of the Triple Crown races, was sidelined until the fall and now has been retired to stud. French Deputy won the Jerome Handicap at Belmont Park in September, but came out of a ninth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with a tendon injury. . . . Winning for the first time since she captured the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park in July, Private Persuasion took the Santa Clara Handicap at Bay Meadows. . . . Another Southern California shipper, Ticket To Houston, won Saturday’s Bay Meadows Lassie. . . . G Malleah, who ran six furlongs in 1:06 3/5 at Turf Paradise to set a world record, will run next Sunday at Santa Anita in the El Conejo Handicap. . . . Adele Walsh Parker, who bred and raced horses for 25 years, died on Dec. 23 after a month-long illness. Parker, who was 83, raced as the Emerald Isle Stables and won several stakes with Selecting in the 1970s.