$600,000 Oaklawn Handicap Proves Fit for K One King

Making only his second start in a Grade I race, K One King defeated, among others, Budroyale and Cat Thief, to win the $600,000 Oaklawn Handicap Saturday at Oaklawn Park.

A 6-1 shot in the field of six, K One King--owned by Allen and Madeleine Paulson and trained by Akiko Gothard--circled the field after being last for six furlongs to beat Almutawakel by nearly two lengths in 1:48 for the 1 1/8 miles. Cat Thief, who had taken over the lead from pacesetter Allen’s Oop, wound up third.

Going after his first victory in a Grade I, Budroyale instead threw in a rare bad race. The 7-year-old gelding, who had finished second in last month’s Santa Anita Handicap, was a well-beaten fifth and it was only the second time he has been worse than third in 15 starts since the beginning of 1999. Jockey Garrett Gomez said Budroyale didn’t care for the track.

K One King was making only his second start of the year. He had won an allowance race Feb. 24 at Gulfstream Park after having not raced since finishing a troubled eighth in last year’s Kentucky Derby.

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After being surprised by Lexicon the last time they met at Santa Anita, Kona Gold turned things around in a big way Saturday.

Avenging a defeat in the Ancient Title Breeders’ Cup Handicap last fall, Kona Gold easily dispatched of Lexicon and two others in the $200,998 Potrero Grande Breeders’ Cup Handicap.

In a race reduced to four starters after Son Of A Pistol and Elaborate were scratched, Kona Gold--the 7-10 favorite--tracked Lexicon through a 44 1/5 half-mile, took over with a quarter of a mile to run and went on to win by 4 1/2 lengths under jockey Alex Solis in 1:14 3/5 for the 6 1/2 furlongs.

Owned by a partnership that includes trainer Bruce Headley and Irwin Molasky, the 6-year-old son of Java Gold won for the sixth time in 14 races. Old Topper, the 6-1 third choice, rallied for second, two lengths in front of Your Halo and Lexicon--the 17-10 second choice--faded to last.

“I believe Kona Gold is twice as good now as he was a year ago,” said Solis of a gelding who was good enough to finish second to Artax in the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. “He’s really getting tougher and tougher. Remember, he didn’t run until he was a four-year-old.”

Headley indicated Kona Gold will probably be rested until the Bing Crosby Handicap early in the Del Mar meet.

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There was more than a Santa Anita Derby win to celebrate for a certain couple Saturday evening.

About 2 1/2 hours after his wife Jenine Sahadi won the Derby with The Deputy, trainer Ben Cecil’s had Falcon Flight make a successful U.S. debut with a come-from-behind win in the $163,250 El Rincon Handicap.

A winner of two of three races in France, Falcon Flight--a 4-year-old, French-bred owned by Gary Tanaka--got up in the final strides under jockey Brice Blanc to beat Bonapartiste by a neck in 1:47 4/5 for the 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Horse Racing Notes

Rings A Chime, who had been a victim of Surfside in her last three starts, scored a 7-1, gate-to-wire win in the $500,000 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. He covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44 2/5. . . . General Challenge is the 2-5 morning-line favorite to win his third stakes race of the Santa Anita meet in today’s $150,000 San Bernardino Handicap at 1 1/8 miles. The winner of the Strub Stakes and Santa Anita Handicap, General Challenge will be opposed by Elaborate, David, Early Pioneer and Moore’s Flat . . . With owner Frank Stronach on hand, favored Golden Missile ran second in Saturday’s $100,000 Westchester Handicap at Aqueduct. Yankee Victor was the winner at 7-1, completing the mile in 1:34 1/5.