It’s Busy Schedule as Silver Charm Runs After Cigar

By the end of March, Silver Charm could be right on Cigar’s heels.

Beginning with the $200,000 San Pasqual Handicap today at Santa Anita, the ambitious plan for Silver Charm--the first Kentucky Derby winner to race at age 5 since 1991 hero Strike The Gold--is to make four starts in 77 days. The other starts would be in the $500,000 Donn Handicap on Jan. 30 at Gulfstream, the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap on March 6 and the $4-million Dubai World Cup on March 28.

If Silver Charm wins all four races, his earnings would go to $9,933,006, leaving him $67,000 shy of Cigar as racing’s all-time leading money earner.

Silver Charm, owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis and trained by Bob Baffert, is expected to begin 1999 with his 12th victory in his 20th start. He is the 3-5 favorite against a field reduced Saturday by the scratch of Musical Gambler because of a minor ankle problem.

Gary Stevens will ride Silver Charm, who will carry 125 pounds. He has won five of eight races at Santa Anita, finishing second the other times.

Malek, who won the Santa Anita Handicap last year against only three opponents, is the 5-2 second choice in his first start since he finished fourth behind Silver Charm in the Dubai World Cup last March 28.

“I would like to see him beat Silver Charm, but I don’t expect him to,” said trainer Richard Mandella. “Malek just hasn’t trained like a horse who would run his best race the first one back. He’ll run well, but I don’t know if well means good enough to beat Silver Charm.”

The field for the San Pasqual, which is a Grade II race, is completed by Dramatic Gold, the 4-1 third choice, Crafty Friend at 10-1 and Young At Heart at 15-1.

Dramatic Gold, now trained by Craig Dollase, earned his first win in more than two years at Hollywood Park last month. The 8-year-old gelding’s previous victory was in the Meadowlands Cup on Oct. 26, 1996.

Cape Canaveral, the 1-5 favorite in the $102,508 San Miguel Stakes, did the expected in the Grade III race, but it wasn’t easy.

Aristotle, the 6-1 third choice in the field of four 3-year-olds, made Cape Canaveral work for his second win in as many starts, but trainer Wayne Lukas’ colt got the job done in 1:09 for the six furlongs.

Cape Canaveral, owned and bred by Bill Young’s Overbrook Farm, made the lead under jockey David Flores, easily disposed of overmatched longshot Danzig Commander, then withstood the challenge of Aristotle to win by a length.

Cape Canaveral probably will go from a sprint to a two-turn race in his next start.

“We have the luxury of spacing his races now,” said Lukas after his second San Miguel win in three years. “I’m anxious to send him two turns. He relaxed very well on the lead and David said he could have put him anywhere, so that’s encouraging.

“Everybody always speculates on [a son or daughter of] Mr. Prospector, and if they run 1:09, they think they’re a sprinter. I always say people have opinions, horses have the facts. He’s got a great efficiency of motion. At this time of the year, everybody’s questionable [at longer distances].”

Flores, who has been aboard for both of Cape Canaveral’s wins, is confident the colt will be able to cope with two-turn racing.

“I love his style and my opinion is that he will relax in the longer races,” Flores said. “He might have run faster the first time, but he was improved today. I took a nice hold of him and he relaxed like an old pro. I did get after him a little bit [in the stretch], but I loved the way he finished.”

Aristotle, who broke his maiden on the turf at Hollywood Park last month, finished 7 1/2 lengths ahead of 7-2 second choice Actin Time and it was another 18 back to Danzig Commander, who earned $6,276 simply by completing the race.

In a race that didn’t feature any of the heavyweights of the 3-year-old filly division, Holywood Picture earned the first graded stakes win of her career, beating Exbourne Free and five others in the $108,100 Santa Ysabel Stakes.

Holywood Picture, the daughter of 1994 Horse of the Year Holy Bull and the stakes-winning mare Take My Picture, took the lead from Exbourne Free in the final furlong and went on to win by two lengths in 1:43 2/5 for the 1 1/16 miles.

This was the third win in eight starts for Holywood Picture, the fourth choice at 5-1.

Holywood Picture is owned by Carolyn Chapman--mother of trainer Jim Chapman--and Theresa McArthur and ridden by Octavio Vergara, who had last won a stakes at Emerald Downs in Washington last summer.

“She’s just coming around, she’s a nice filly,’ said trainer Chapman. “She’s been very slow to get fit, she’s been a little fat in her gut. When she gets everything going in the right direction, she’s going to be a really nice horse.”

Cosmic Wing, the 9-5 favorite making her California debut for Baffert, was fourth, nearly seven lengths behind the winner. Western Woman, the 2-1 second choice, shockingly didn’t show any early speed and finished last. She is winless in four starts since being sold privately after winning her first two races.

Exbourne Free, making only her second start after breaking her maiden going six furlongs on Oct. 24, held second after becoming the surprise early leader and was 3 1/2 lengths clear of third-place Gleefully.

“She made the lead very easily and those tactics might not be her favorite, but they were probably the most effective ones to employ today,” said jockey Kent Desormeaux of Exbourne Free.

Horse Racing Notes

Jockey Eddie Delahoussaye earned career victory No. 5,991 when heavily favored Smooth Player won the first race on Saturday. Delahoussaye is trying to become the 14th rider in history to ride 6,000 winners. . . . Manistique, who is scheduled to make her 1999 debut in the $150,000 El Encino Stakes a week from today, worked seven furlongs in 1:27 1/5 Saturday at Hollywood Park. . . . Jockey Joe Steiner, who had one winner in the first 11 days of the meeting, had two Saturday on longshots Order A Dance in the second race and Mister H in the ninth.