Stevens Steers Souvenir Copy to Victory in Norfolk Stakes

The bidding stopped at $770,000 on Souvenir Copy when he was on the auction block at a Barretts sale in Pomona early this year.

Breeders John and Betty Mabee, who had put a pre-sale $875,000 reserve on the unraced colt--the minimum it would take to buy him--bought back Souvenir Copy to race in their own burgundy-and-gold colors.

“After the sale,” John Mabee said, “we had a few offers from the East in that range, but we decided to keep him.”

Now, Mabee says, Souvenir Copy could be worth $10 million. The regally bred 2-year-old son of Mr. Prospector and Dancing Tribute, a Nureyev mare, won the Del Mar Futurity in September. On Sunday, before 31,432 at Santa Anita, he added a 1 3/4-length victory in the $200,000 Norfolk, a launching pad for his excursion into the $1-million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 8 at Hollywood Park. Some other crack colts--Favorite Trick and Grand Slam--also will run in the Juvenile, making it one of the more intriguing races on the $11-million day.

“I’ve never seen such a mature 2-year-old,” said trainer Bob Baffert, whose stellar year continues. “You shouldn’t compare horses, you just get them ready to win a race, but Souvenir Copy’s ahead of Silver Charm at this stage. Silver Charm was lazy and in the mornings you couldn’t get him to do anything. This colt has a longer stride than Silver Charm, and Silver Charm has one of the longest strides you’ll ever see.”

Silver Charm, who had his first workout Sunday since running second in the Belmont Stakes, won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness for Baffert, whose barn has earned about $8 million this year.

Baffert’s 2-year-olds have left little room for anyone else. After Sunday, he had won 11 of 17 starts with juveniles at the Oak Tree meet, bringing his record for the year to 27 wins in 55 starts. With Vivid Angel, Baffert won the Del Mar Debutante and Saturday’s Oak Leaf, and now Souvenir Copy has swept the male counterparts to those races, stamping the 44-year-old trainer as the first horseman to win all four in the same year.

About an hour before the Norfolk, there was a sizzling Breeders’ Cup prep between Sharp Cat and Twice The Vice, who are expected to renew their rivalry in the Distaff on Nov. 8. This time there was no one in the five-horse field to challenge Sharp Cat early, and she shook off Twice The Vice in the stretch for a two-length win in the $179,400 Lady’s Secret Handicap.

Souvenir Copy, winning for the third time in four starts, ran a mile--a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Breeders’ Cup distance--in 1:36 and paid $6 as the slight favorite over Old Topper, who missed by a nose in the Del Mar Futurity. Old Topper failed to threaten Sunday and was last in the seven-horse field, eliminating trainer Noble Threewitt’s colt from the Breeders’ Cup.

Old Trieste, ridden by Chris McCarron, finished second in the Norfolk after leading at the eighth pole. Old Trieste was four lengths better than Double Honor, the third-place finisher.

Souvenir Copy’s brief career has been marked by one jockey change after another. Gary Stevens rode him for the first time Sunday, after McCarron took off following his winning run in the Del Mar Futurity.

“When Chris told me that he was going to ride Old Trieste, I told him that he was making a mistake,” Baffert said. “But Chris figured that Old Trieste was going to move up a lot after he beat that promising 2-year-old of mine, Johnbill, in his last race.”

McCarron thought that Old Trieste would protect his lead in the stretch.

“But looks can be deceiving, can’t they?” McCarron said. “My horse ran big, he ran a great race. I’m very pleased with the way he ran.”

Baffert might not be able to retain Souvenir Copy’s rider for the Breeders’ Cup, since Stevens rode Grand Slam to an impressive victory Saturday in the Champagne at Belmont Park.

“It’ll be a tough call,” Baffert said. “But I can’t worry about things I have no control over.”

In the Lady’s Secret, Wayne Lukas brought back Sharp Cat after a 3 1/2-month layoff and under Alex Solis she ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:41 2/5, paying $6.20 as the second choice. Twice The Vice, sent off at 7-10, also was making a comeback, running for the first time since her win in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park on July 20.

“The race didn’t set up for us to win,” said Ron Ellis, who trains Twice The Vice. “I don’t think the other filly will be all alone in the Breeders’ Cup. My mare ran under 1:42, and that’s pretty good for a three-month layoff. She battled all the way, and I didn’t have her cranked all the way up.”

Sharp Cat’s 10th win in 16 starts boosted her bankroll by $109,400, to $1.1 million. She had been given a rest after winning the Hollywood Oaks on July 6.

“This establishes her credibility for the Breeders’ Cup,” Lukas said. “It’s going to be a great Distaff.”

Horse Racing Notes

Benchmark is out of the Breeders’ Cup Classic because of a chipped ankle. He’ll undergo surgery this week with the idea of bringing him back. . . . Siphon, fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, was lame after the race, but didn’t break any bones and has been retired. He earned $3.1 million. . . . Gentlemen worked a mile at Hollywood Park in 1:38 4/5. . . . Hidden Lake, winning her fourth in a row, finished two lengths ahead of Ajina in the $400,000 Beldame at Belmont Park.