Put Siphon on Top in Mandella Trifecta

A couple of weeks ago, trainer Bob Baffert was talking about David Flores’ skills as a jockey.

“When David gets the lead, it’s impossible to get by him,” Baffert said.

Nobody got by Flores in 1991, when he rode Marquetry to victory, at 27-1, in the $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup.

Nobody got by Flores in another Gold Cup last year, when he rode Siphon to an upset win.

Siphon and Flores are the perfect combination, a front-running horse whose style dovetails with his jockey’s forte. They danced this runaway routine again Sunday as Siphon held off two of his stablemates to win the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap by three lengths.

This was the 60th Big ‘Cap, and Siphon and Flores and trainer Richard Mandella’s two other horses made for the race’s most extraordinary finish. Sandpit’s late run beat favored Gentlemen by a nose for second place.

This was the first time in the Big ‘Cap that a trainer had finished 1-2-3. Mandella’s achievement also moved him into select company that includes Charlie Whittingham and Wayne Lukas. Whittingham has finished 1-2-3 several times, the most distinguishing his Hollywood Gold Cup sweep with Kennedy Road, Quack and Cougar II in 1973. Lukas sent out an entry--Open Mind, Darby Shuffle and Lea Lucinda--that hogged the first three spots in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in 1988 at Churchill Downs.

Siphon is a 6-year-old Brazilian-bred whose career was thought to be over and whose life was in jeopardy at Del Mar last summer. His knee injury looked that bad, but X-rays later showed that all he needed was a rest.

“That might have been the best thing to happen to him,” Mandella said.

After his third-place finish, behind Dare And Go (yet another Mandella trainee) and Cigar in the Pacific Classic in August, Siphon didn’t run again until he won an allowance race at Santa Anita on Jan. 26.

That was his tuneup for the Big ‘Cap. Carrying 120 pounds, three less than the high-weighted Gentlemen and one less than Sandpit, he battled with The Barking Shark and Gentlemen for the first mile. As the field straightened out for home, The Barking Shark was finished and Gentlemen, running on the inside, was the only threat.

“At the top of the lane, I couldn’t tell,” Mandella said. “But at the eighth pole, I could see that David had much more horse.”

Siphon completed the 1 1/4 miles in 2:00 1/5. The third betting choice, he paid $12.20 and earned $600,000 for his absent owner, Linneo Eduardo de Paula Machado, whose family has been breeding and running horses for more than 90 years. Machado learned of Siphon’s victory via a telephone call from Albert Figueire, his racing manager, who was among the 30,976 on hand at Santa Anita.

By winning, Siphon is the only horse eligible for a $3-million MGM Grand bonus that has been offered to any horse that sweeps the Santa Anita Handicap, the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Pacific Classic. All three of Mandella’s horses could be factors in the two remaining races, but first they might hook up on March 29 in the $4-million Dubai World Cup.

Siphon’s career began in Brazil in 1994. He won his first four races, on grass as well as dirt, but that fall he ran two poor races in Argentina. He was sent to Mandella, who saddled him for the first time in May 1995 at Hollywood Park. Under Mandella, Siphon has won eight of 15 starts, six stakes races and earned most of his overall total of $1.7 million in the U.S.

Even before Siphon’s injury, Mandella had been able to plan his schedule around the Breeders’ Cup. Neither Siphon nor his sire had been nominated to the Breeders’ Cup series early on, and to run in any of the races would cost his owner hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalty payments.

Flores, 29, who rode in quarter horse match races in Tijuana for his father when he was 10, has been riding in Southern California since 1989. Flores’ reputation among trainers is that he pays attention to instructions, and the pre-race plan for Siphon wasn’t any different than the five other times he had ridden him. Flores has lost with him only once.

“Every race I ride this horse, he gives me so much confidence,” Flores said. “I knew in this race that I had a lot of horse left. Gentlemen tried hard, but Siphon was too much horse today.”

Gentlemen, sent off at 17-10, lost for the first time in eight months as his five-race winning streak ended. A horse with a running style not unlike Siphon’s, Gentlemen drew the inside post position in the 11-horse field, which was a dilemma for jockey Gary Stevens.

“I was pretty much obligated to force him to come back rather than let him find his own stride,” Stevens said. “He broke running, and rather than risk a suicide pace with Siphon, I had to yank him back pretty hard instead of just letting him flow into a stride and possibly making Siphon kick on a little bit faster than he would have liked. But I really couldn’t have asked for a better trip than what we got.”

Siphon’s fractions for the first six furlongs were a moderate :23, :46 2/5 and 1:10.

“David Flores rode a great race,” Stevens said. “He slowed down comfortably enough where he had enough to finish with. He made it just tight enough on my horse turning into the stretch. My horse needs a little room to switch [lead feet]. He’s probably a little better on the outside. David held me off. I had no excuse, really.”

Sandpit, running for the 33rd time and for the first time on dirt, put in his late kick and his third-place money moved him closer to the $3-million mark. He was sixth with a quarter-mile left and came wide through the stretch. Dubai officials had indicated before the race that if the 8-year-old ran well on dirt, they might toss him an invitation.

“I thought turning for home we’d have a shot at the lead,” jockey Corey Nakatani said. “But Siphon got such an easy lead, nobody was able to come up to him. This was the first time my horse ever got dirt in his face, and I’m sure he’ll handle it a little better next time.”

Marlin, another horse whose best efforts have come on grass, finished fourth, beaten by 4 1/2 lengths.

Mandella’s weekend started on a high note Friday, when his promising 3-year-old, P.T. Indy, won a mile grass race. The next day, he saddled Atticus, who broke the world record for a mile on grass. Then the crescendo, the three-bagger in the Big ‘Cap.

“These horses are better than any one man should have in his barn,” Mandella said.

* MIKE DOWNEY

Dick Mandella barely knew which horse to watch with his binoculars. But he had to figure the Big ‘Cap winner would be South American. C4