This Time, Paying Dues Is Alone in First

The last time Paying Dues ran six furlongs at Hollywood Park, he covered the distance in 1:08 1/5 in the Los Angeles Handicap on April 26.

Trainer Cliff Sise’s 4-year-old gelding repeated the feat Saturday in the $108,100 Vernon O. Underwood Stakes. The difference this time was he didn’t have to share the victory.

In the Los Angeles, the son of Cure The Blues finished in a dead heat with Abaginone. On Saturday, the win was his alone.

With Pat Day flying in for the mount, the 7-10 favorite followed up his sharp second to Lit De Justice in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint with a three-quarter-length decision over 11-1 shot Men’s Exclusive.

This was the sixth win in 13 starts for Paying Dues, owned by W.R. Welty, Lynn Ballantyne and Clarence Owen.

“He’s going just marvelous right now,” Sise said. “I was a little nervous today because we were [7-10]. When you’re 30-1 [actually 31-1] in the Breeders’ Cup, you’re not nervous, but you’re nervous when you’re [7-10].

“Next time, he’ll stretch out [around two turns]. This sprint came up easy, so we decided to give it one more shot at [six furlongs].”

Men’s Exclusive, who added Lasix after a four-length comeback win on this track last month, finished two lengths ahead of another 11-1 shot Kern Ridge.

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Perfect in two starts on the Hollywood Park main track, Listening is the 9-5 favorite against six opponents in today’s $100,000 Bayakoa Handicap.

Making her first appearance against older horses, the 3-year-old Night Shift filly won the Princess and Hollywood Oaks this summer, and returned after a two-month layoff to win the Linda Vista Handicap at Santa Anita on Oct. 19.

Drawn on the rail, Listening will be ridden by Chris McCarron.

Cat’s Cradle, who has two wins and two thirds in five starts on the Hollywood Park main track, is the 5-2 second choice. The field also includes Smolensk, Sleep Easy, Belle’s Flag, Traces Of Gold and Predicted Glory.

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The Strub Stakes, the main event for 4-year-olds at Santa Anita, was downgraded from a Grade I to a Grade II for next year by the North American Graded Stakes committee.

Among other local races of note that were reduced were the Hollywood Oaks (Grade I to Grade II), the Californian (Grade I to Grade II), the Hollywood Juvenile (Grade II to Grade III) and Del Mar’s Palomar Handicap (Grade II to Grade III).

Three Santa Anita races were upgraded, however. The La Brea, a former Grade II, is now a Grade I, the Potrero Grande is now a Grade II after being a Grade III and the Louis R. Rowan Handicap was given graded status for the first time as a Grade III.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey Michael Hunter suffered a possible separated right shoulder when Wildly Joyous broke down in Saturday’s sixth race. Hunter was taken to Centinela Hospital Medical Center for X-rays. . . . Cominalittlehot, who set a course record in winning the Morvich Handicap on Oct. 27 at Santa Anita, had to be destroyed after becoming ill in Hong Kong, where he had been shipped to run in the Hong Kong International Bowl. Owned by Gary and Tim Burke and trained by Mike Mitchell, the 5-year-old gelding had 10 wins in 36 starts and earned $393,627. Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Da Hoss and stakes-winning Mateo were scratched from the International when routine pre-race tests found traces of anabolic steroids. Da Hoss, trained by Michael Dickinson and scheduled to be ridden by Gary Stevens, had battled a low white cell count in recent weeks. Neither Dickinson nor Mateo’s trainer, Ian Jory, could be reached for comment. . . . Jockey Alex Solis was suspended three days by the stewards for striking Kent Desormeaux after crossing the wire in Friday night’s third race.

Santa Anita, which begins its 86-day meeting Dec. 26, will run eight races on weekdays and nine on weekends, a reduction of 5% from its last winter season. The track’s application was approved by the California Horse Racing Board Friday. . . . Jockey Russell Baze hit the 400-win mark for the fifth consecutive year by riding Devilish Nature to victory at Golden Gate Fields. It was career win No. 5,597 for Baze, 38.