Skip Away, Real Quiet Get New Plans for Next Starts

Neither Skip Away nor Real Quiet will make his next start in California.

There was hope the horse generally considered the best in the world, Skip Away, would run next in Del Mar’s Pacific Classic on Aug. 15 and that the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner’s next race would be Hollywood Park’s Swaps Stakes on July 19. But both are passing on those two races.

After Skip Away’s victory in the Hollywood Gold Cup on June 28, trainer Sonny Hine intimated that the 5-year-old, who has won seven in a row, wasn’t a slam dunk to come back to California.

Earlier this week, Hine, who trains Skip Away for wife Carolyn, confirmed the horse came out of the Gold Cup tired and will make his next start in either the Whitney Handicap on Aug. 8 at Saratoga or the Philip Iselin Handicap three weeks later at Monmouth Park.

“I had to push Skip Away to make the Gold Cup,” Hine was quoted as saying. “He had plenty of reasons not to run, and he paid the price.

“He came back a very tired horse. He’s been in training four years and I’ve never seen him this docile. If I go out [to California] again, I blow the fall races and I can’t do that.”

Real Quiet, meanwhile, who hasn’t started since missing the Triple Crown by a nose when beaten by Victory Gallop in the Belmont Stakes, had a minor setback, according to trainer Bob Baffert, and is now scheduled to make his next start in the $1-million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 9 at Monmouth Park.

Even without Real Quiet, Baffert will still have a representative in the Swaps. Shot Of Gold, who has won five of nine, worked a mile in 1:37 4/5 Monday at Santa Anita and will run in the Swaps. A son of Jolie’s Halo, Shot Of Gold has won a pair of minor stakes in Kentucky and he broke his maiden at Santa Anita.

The Swaps probably will have a small field as the only others considered probable at this point are Old Trieste and Old Topper, the first two finishers in the recent Affirmed Handicap.

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Free House, one of the best and most consistent 3-year-olds of 1997, will make his first start of the year Saturday when he takes on as few as four others in the $100,000 Bel Air Handicap.

Owned by Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan and trained by Paco Gonzalez, the California-bred son of Smokester won the San Felipe and Swaps Stakes as well as the Santa Anita Derby last year. He was second in the Preakness and third in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont.

Rested after his last-place finish at 7-10 odds in the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs showed he was a tired colt, Free House, who will carry highweight of 124 pounds, has trained well for his return.

Chris McCarron is the colt’s new rider, and this will be Free House’s first start at Hollywood Park since he won the Swaps by 3 1/2 lengths nearly a year ago.

The others expected to be entered in the 1 1/16-mile Bel Air are Mervyn LeRoy winner Wild Wonder, Californian winner River Keen, Albaha and Cantbetouched. There’s a slim chance Budroyale will join the field.

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There’s a possibility McCaffery, Toffan and Gonzalez could sweep both of the graded stakes run at Hollywood Park this weekend since they also will be represented by Visible Slew in the $200,000 Hollywood Oaks on Sunday.

Third in the Princess Stakes last month after winning her previous two starts by a combined 22 lengths, Visible Slew is one of five probables for the Oaks, which is run at 1 1/8 miles.

A gate-to-wire winner in both of her easy victories, Visible Slew was outrun by Brulay, who is heading to Saratoga for the seven-furlong Test Stakes on Aug. 1 for her next start, and wound up beaten 1 1/4 lengths by longshot Sweet And Ready.

“We’ve got to let her run the way she likes,” said Gonzalez, meaning look for jockey Michael Hunter to have her on the lead immediately. “Last time we tried to fight her. . . . She wanted to go and we didn’t let her.

“It didn’t help her at all, and she still ran a very good race.”

Manistique, unbeaten in two starts with an average victory margin of 10 1/2 lengths, Sweet And Ready, Hope Island and Yolo Lady also probably will run in the Oaks. Cherry Moon, Filigree, Censored and Social Noel are possibles.

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There is a Pick Six carry-over for today of more than $113,000. . . . Jockey Rene Douglas won twice on Wednesday after also winning twice on Sunday.