Weekend Double for Father, Son

This continues to be a banner Del Mar meeting for the training Cananis--son Nick and father Julio.

The two have combined to win with 11 of 20 starters at the meeting and have five stakes victories--the most recent coming on Sunday when Nick Canani’s Sicy d’Alsace won the Grade I $250,000 Del Mar Oaks. On Saturday, the Julio Canani-trained Tuzla won the $108,700 Osunitas Handicap.

Sicy d’Alsace, a French-bred, made her U.S. debut in last month’s San Clemente Handicap here and was a narrow winner at odds of 41-1.

She was the fourth betting choice at 6-1 in a field of 10 in the Oaks and, after being last early and ninth after six furlongs, rallied on the outside under jockey Corey Nakatani for a half-length victory in 1:48 1/5 for the 1 1/8 miles on turf.

“Everybody was afraid of her [regressing, as many European imports do in their second start in this country], but I knew she had been training awesome,” said Canani, 24. “I just thought she wasn’t the type of filly to bounce [regress].

“She bounced right into the winner’s circle.”

Sicy d’Alsace, owned by a partnership headed by Jack Preston and Jeff DeHaven, won for the fourth time in 16 starts.

Tranquility Lake, the original second-place finisher at 12-1, was disqualified and placed third for bothering Adel, who was in third and was moved up to second.

Who Did It And Run, the 7-5 favorite making her California debut after winning all three of her turf starts in New Jersey, set a slow early pace and faded to a sixth-place finish.

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Jockey Gary Stevens will undergo an MRI today after wrenching his left knee during a freak mishap before the fourth race on Sunday.

Stevens was warming up Isitever, a 2-year-old first time starter for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Mike Pegram, when the colt jerked suddenly to his right, injuring the jockey’s knee.

Stevens , who had surgery on the knee in 1995, summoned the track ambulance and was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla for X-rays, which were negative. Emile Ramsammy substituted for Stevens on Isitever, who finished fourth, and two races later won aboard Lexicon, a horse that Stevens was scheduled to ride.

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Laffit Pincay Jr., who suffered a broken collarbone and broken ribs in a spill at Del Mar on July 25, hopes to return to riding either Sunday or next Monday.

Pincay, 51, will be examined by his doctor on Wednesday in La Jolla. He needs one more victory at Del Mar to tie Bill Shoemaker’s record of 889 at the track and is 203 victories short of Shoemaker’s all-time record of 8,834.

“I’m feeling great,” said Pincay. “I’ve been exercising and going to the gym every day. I’ve been doing a little bit of weightlifting and I’ve been able to keep my weight down. I’m ready.”

Pincay also related his feelings about Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens, who died at 84 on Saturday.

“Woody was a not only a great trainer, but a good friend,” said Pincay. “I owe a lot to him. It was a lot of fun to be around him because he always had stories to tell. He was loved by everybody.”

Stephens trained Swale, who provided Pincay with his lone victory in the Kentucky Derby in 1984, and the rider also was aboard for three of Stephens’ five consecutive Belmont Stakes winners.

When Eddie Maple was injured in a spill, Pincay got the last-minute call to ride Conquistador Cielo in the 1982 Belmont and the colt--who went on to be voted Horse of the Year--won by 14 lengths. He and Stephens also won the Belmont with Caveat and Swale.

“When I used to go to New York to ride, I would ride for him occasionally, but when he needed a rider for Conquistador Cielo, I got the mount and a lot of times when good horses came open, he would call me. I was very sad when I heard that he had died.”

Horse Racing Notes

Favored Wild Wonder won the $200,000 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs in Washington. Eddie Delahoussaye rode the winner for owner Verne Winchell’s V H W Stables and trainer Greg Gilchrist. Mocha Express was second and Hal’s Pal was third.