Second Time Might Be the Charm for Toner

Trainer James Toner has been in this position before.

A year ago, the Eclipse award for the nation’s top female turf horse was up for grabs before the $700,000 Matriarch and a win by his Memories Of Silver might have won her the title.

But she ran third, behind Wandesta and Windsharp, and Wandesta wound up winning the Eclipse.

Toner, 57, will be hoping for a reversal of fortune in today’s Matriarch at Hollywood Park.

Again, Memories Of Silver is among the main contenders for the female turf championship, as are Maxzene, and Ryafan, and the three fillies will all run in the 1 1/4-mile Grade I race.

A 4-year-old daughter of Silver Hawk, Memories Of Silver had an eventful trip in the Yellow Ribbon earlier this month at Santa Anita in her first start in California this year.

Saving ground under Jerry Bailey, she was shoved into the rail while trying to rally and both she and pacesetter Dance Design were fortunate not to go down. Still, Memories Of Silver came on to finish third, beaten by 2 3/4 lengths by Ryafan, who survived a stewards’ inquiry.

“I don’t know what anybody else thinks, but I think [Memories Of Silver] was the best horse in the Yellow Ribbon,” Toner said. “I’m not taking anything away from the winner, but I think if anybody saw the race and saw what happened to this filly--she almost went over the fence--and how she was able to recover and finish third is remarkable.

“She’s such a great athlete. I don’t think too many horses could do what she did under those circumstances. That’s what makes her special and I think that’s why [Bailey] has so much confidence in her. She’s so quick to the hole, so quick to accelerate.

“Jerry said the hole was there [in the Yellow Ribbon] but when he got there, it wasn’t. It was a difficult call. I think the stewards made the proper decision.”

Owned by John and Joan Phillips, Memories Of Silver will be looking for her third win of the year in her sixth start. She scored her biggest victory in the Beverly D on Aug. 24 at Arlington International. She also won the Just A Game Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Belmont Park and was second and third in two other graded stakes.

“The times she’s gotten beat this year, there have been legitimate reasons,” Toner said. “I hate to say excuses, but there were legitimate reasons for her to get beat. Conceivably, she could be undefeated this year.

“I think it would mean an awful lot to everyone involved with the filly to be able to win both the Beverly D and the Matriarch. I think she would have to be considered for the Eclipse.

“The Matriarch seems to be the title race again this year. [Maxzene, Ryafan and Memories Of Silver] opposing each other and whoever wins deserves the Eclipse.

“This type of race is one of the things that is lacking in the Breeders’ Cup. Hollywood Park is smart enough to put a race of this stature at this time of the year to decide a championship.

“To train a champion horse and be recognized with an Eclipse would mean an awful lot to me. I mean, that’s what I’m in [racing] for--that’s what we’re all in it for--to be recognized. The only way you are going to be recognized for something is to train a champion.”

If Laffit Pincay Jr. decides to shift to Northern California in his quest to catch Bill Shoemaker and become racing’s winningest jockey, he said wife Jeanine and their son Jean-Laffit would remain in the couple’s Glendale residence and he would fly home on non-racing days.

“[Jeanine] has been very supportive,” he said. “She told me that whatever I wanted to do was fine with her, as long as I come back home [on dark days].”

Pincay has had few mounts lately but said, “I understand how the game goes. The same thing happened to [Shoemaker] and it could happen to anybody. I am disappointed at some people that won’t even give me a horse to ride once in a while, and sometimes, I’ll ride a horse and the next time it runs, somebody else is riding.

“If I felt I wasn’t doing justice to the horses, I would be the first to say it’s time to stop. But I enjoy riding more than I have in a long, long time. I don’t have the pressure I used to have. I enjoy going to the jockeys’ room and talking to the guys and the only thing I have to worry about now is my weight.”

One of four local riders in the Hall of Fame, along with Eddie Delahoussaye, Chris McCarron and Gary Stevens, Pincay, who rode at Golden Gate Fields Friday and Saturday, already has an agent in the Bay Area--O.J. Jauregui, the brother of veteran jockey Luis Jauregui.