If ’98 Matches ‘97, These Are the Ones to Keep an Eye On

If the winner of the $100,000 San Miguel Stakes today returns to win the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 4, he will make history.

No 3-year-old who has won the six-furlong San Miguel has ever gone on to win the Derby, so from that perspective, it doesn’t have much significance.

But what could make it noteworthy is that it is one of the early stakes for 3-year-olds at this meeting, and that was a very interesting division locally in 1997.

The Silver Charm-Free House rivalry that continued in all three legs of the Triple Crown began at Santa Anita, and Touch Gold, who thwarted Silver Charm’s bid for a sweep of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes with a victory in New York, began his year with an easy sprint victory here.

Fans can only hope that 1998 will bring the same kind of excitement. Here is a list of some California-based 3-year-olds who could attract attention in the coming months:

1. Souvenir Copy. Rested since finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the Mr. Prospector colt will make his first start of the year in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 7, the same race Silver Charm won in his initial start of ’97. Trained by Bob Baffert and owned by John and Betty Mabee’s Golden Eagle Farm, he proved his ability with victories in the Del Mar Futurity, also won by Silver Charm, and the Norfolk.

2. Real Quiet. Also trained by Baffert, the son of Quiet American is fresh off a victory in the Hollywood Futurity, though that might not have been much of a guide. The colt that finished second, Artax, lost as the 2-5 favorite in an allowance race last week and the third-place finisher, Nationalore, is a maiden who lost for the 11th time as the favorite in the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes on New Year’s Day.

3. Futuristic. A gelded son of Future Storm, he has a second and two victories in his three races around two turns.He is getting better with every outing, comes from the Craig Dollase barn and made two moves in upsetting Artax last week. He may return in the Golden Gate Derby on Jan. 18 or wait for the Santa Catalina on Feb. 1.

4. Artax. Trainer Randy Bradshaw remains high on this son of Marquetry, who is owned by Ernie Paragallo’s Paraneck Stable. Paragallo owned Unbridled’s Song and made some questionable decisions regarding his campaign two years ago. Artax is still green and learning what the game is all about, so there is reason to believe there is still much improvement in him.

5. Orville N Wilbur’s. He has been awesome in a pair of sprints since returning for Wally Dollase, but the real test with him will come when he goes two turns in the Golden Gate Derby. Some observers who have watched him train aren’t convinced Orville N Wilbur’s wants to run long.

6. Skeaping. A Pennsylvania-bred trained by Wayne Lukas, the lightly raced son of Storm Bird overcame the outside post in a field of 12 to beat maidens by seven lengths on Dec. 26, the first day of the Santa Anita meeting. He was beaten by only three-quarters of a length by Futuristic on Dec. 3 going 1 1/16 miles and he had only one sprint under his belt. His pedigree says distance won’t be a bother.

7. Ladies Din. The son of Din’s Dancer isn’t the easiest horse in the world to ride, but he does have ability. Claimed for $32,000, the gelding, trained by Julio Canani, has a long stride, and while he has picked up two of his victories on the turf, he did break his maiden on the main track, overcoming a lot of trouble to do so. Distance certainly does not look as if it will be a problem.

8. Dixie Dot Com. Based in Northern California with veteran trainer Bill Morey, the Dixie Brass colt is perfect in three starts and proved himself around two turns with a victory in the Simply Majestic last month at Golden Gate Fields. His action isn’t pretty, but he can run. Look for him to make an appearance locally in the future.

9. Sea Of Secrets. He is unbeaten and untested in two starts and he has the pedigree to stay a distance. It remains a mystery when he will next appear for trainer Neil Drysdale.

10. Nationalore. Yes, he still hasn’t won, but he is better routing than sprinting and he did finish well to be third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile behind champion Favorite Trick. It looks like the farther the better for the son of Video Ranger.

There are some prominent names left off the list, but 3-year-olds Old Topper, Old Trieste, Grand Slam and Johnbill are either sidelined by injury or just returning to training after being on the shelf.

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Commitisize, who worked six furlongs in 1:10 3/5 on Dec. 29, is the 2-1 favorite in the San Miguel, which attracted eight other entrants. Included among them is Iron Cat, who will be trying to give owners Jan, Mace and Samantha Siegel and trainer Randy Bradshaw back-to-back wins in the race. They won last year with Thisnearlywasmine.

Two races later, Northern Afleet is the 7-2 morning line choice against 10 other older horses in the $200,000 San Pasqual Handicap, the first prep for the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.

Other contenders in the Grade II race, which is run at 1 1/16 miles, are Awesome Daze, winner of the Cal Cup Classic and On Trust Handicap in his last two starts, the Richard Mandella trained pair of Malek and Invitato Mio and River Keen.

Horse Racing Notes

Funallover, a 34-1 shot, rallied to win the $113,800 Survive Stakes on Friday after Karakorum, who was on her way to victory, broke down just before the wire in the 5 1/2-furlong race, but still managed to finish second. Karakorum, a 5-year-old Skywalker mare owned by Georgia Ridder and trained by Dave Hofmans, fractured the sesamoids and dislocated her left front ankle and was destroyed. Jockey Emile Ramsammy, who came off her as he tried to pull her up about 70 yards past the wire, was a bit shaken up, but otherwise uninjured. Trained by Gene White and ridden by Rene Douglas, Funallover paid $70 and ran the distance in 1:03 3/5.