Alyrob Gets Sent Back to the Starting Gate

The horse with only five previous starts won this year’s Kentucky Derby, all right, but his name was Grindstone not Alyrob. Wally Dollase, who trains Alyrob, will try a different plan with his next Derby contender.

Dollase knows now that Alyrob might have run better at Churchill Downs if he had had more time to acclimate himself to the track. Last month, Dollase gave Jewel Princess more to do over the Woodbine track before the Breeders’ Cup, and the barn’s star filly won the Distaff and may win a division title.

As for Alyrob, he is recovered from a bad-luck Derby and is ready to launch a new campaign that’s expected to lead to the Strub series for 4-year-olds next season at Santa Anita. The foundation that needs to be laid starts today at Hollywood Park, where Alyrob meets Victory Speech, another survivor from the Derby, and six others in the $100,000 Laz Barrera Handicap.

Victory Speech, who has won seven of 18 starts and earned $860,162, is the high weight with 123 pounds and could become the first horse to win the stake carrying more than 122 pounds. Until 1991, the race named after the Hall of Fame trainer was called the Affirmed Handicap, in honor of the colt Laz Barrera trained to sweep the Triple Crown in 1978.

By any name, today’s 1 1/16-mile race is a testing ground for the other six starters. One of trainer Ron McAnally’s two hopefuls, Future Quest, won the Del Mar Futurity and the Norfolk at Santa Anita last year, but has been sprinting unsuccessfully lately. The other, Zanferrier, was overmatched in stakes appearances earlier this year. Rash Reality, Don’t Blame Rio, Pay The Bank and Northern Afleet round out the field. At 117 pounds, Alyrob, Future Quest and Don’t Blame Rio are next to Victory Speech in the weights.

Alyrob, whose only wins came during a 27-day span last winter, has yet to win a stake, but last spring his steppingstone races were so good that he was highly regarded for the Santa Anita Derby, his fifth race.

Before a disqualification for some rough stuff in the stretch, the green gelding finished second to Cavonnier, who would later miss by only a horse hair against Grindstone in the Kentucky Derby.

In Louisville, Alyrob and Honour And Glory left the gate like Siamese twins, and Alyrob, who finished eighth at 7-1, nicked his ankle and the injury puffed up and got infected upon his return to California. Dollase gave him the summer off, and in mid-October, in his first start in more than five months, Alyrob ran second in an allowance mile at Santa Anita.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey Corey Nakatani was off his mounts Saturday after suffering some leg bruises after a mishap at the starting gate in Friday night’s ninth race. Rest In Saratoga, a first-time starter, reared in the gate and slammed Nakatani’s right leg against the barrier. “The good news is that there are no fractures,” said Bob Meldahl, Nakatani’s agent. “His knee and ankle are bruised up pretty good. He thinks he’ll be able to ride [today].” Starter Gary Brinson, who was helping to try to calm Rest In Saratoga, suffered a severe cut to his right hand. He needed 35 stitches to close the wound. Nakatani will serve a five-day suspension, beginning Wednesday, for his disqualification from first to third on Lac Tahoe in Thursday’s sixth race.

Grafin, the 3-1 second choice, held on to beat favored Radu Cool by a head in the $60,900 Flawlessly on Saturday at Hollywood Park. Ridden by Corey Black for trainer Jeremy Noseda, Grafin covered the 1 1/16 miles on turf in 1:40 1/5.

The $300,000 Champion of Champions is next for Dashing Folly, the 3-year-old filly who won Friday night’s $234,171 Los Alamitos Derby for her ninth consecutive victory. Dashing Folly won the Derby by 1 1/4 lengths over Free Thinker as Tami Purcell became the first female jockey to win the stake.

Staff writer Bob Mieszerski contributed to this story.