Smooth Player Gets Smooth Ride

Skipping the California Cup Matron eight days earlier in favor of Sunday’s $175,000 Las Palmas Handicap turned out to be the right move for Smooth Player.

Given a textbook ride by jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, the 4-year-old Bertrando filly drew off to a long lead early in the 1 1/8-mile turf race, then repelled challenges by Beautiful Noise and favored Happyanunoit to win by a head in 1:46 4/5.

Owned and bred by Marty Wygod and John Spohler and trained by Dan Hendricks, Smooth Player--the 5-1 second choice in the field of 10 fillies and mares--won for the eighth time in 18 starts. It was her second graded stakes victory of the Oak Tree meet. She won the Lady’s Secret Handicap, a Grade II, last month before winning the Grade II Las Palmas.

Beautiful Noise, an 11-1 longshot, earned the place, a neck in front of 6-5 favorite Happyanunoit, who has lost three in a row as the public choice. She had no excuses as the 121-pound highweight.

After rallying from slightly off the pace in the Lady’s Secret, Smooth Player assumed the lead immediately, opened up five lengths through a 47 flat half and 1:10 3/5 six furlongs, gave up the lead briefly to Happyanunoit, but proved best at the wire.

“Like I’ve said before, when you get a horse to relax that easy, they’re tough to catch,” Delahoussaye said. “And it’s really tough when it’s a horse like Smooth Player. She’s very steady and just keeps on coming at you. She just keeps going at a really nice clip.”

Hendricks, who nearly won the Matron anyway with Feverish--she was beaten by a nose by Queenie Belle--said Smooth Player is on top of her game right now.

“She’s a tough filly when she is right and carrying weight into races like she is right now,” he said. “When I saw [23 1/5 for the opening quarter mile] I felt real good. When you’ve got Delahoussaye you’ve always got something left. You’re not going to be running out of gas at the quarter pole. He rode her perfect.”

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El Cielo, a specialist on the Santa Anita hillside turf course, is the 5-2 favorite in the $100,000-added Morvich Handicap, the closing-day feature for the Oak Tree meet.

Trained by Craig Dollase for a partnership, El Cielo has won six of nine at the about 6 1/2 furlong distance on the grass. The 6-year-old gelding will be making his first start since winning the San Simeon Handicap last April 24, but he has a history of running well after layoffs.

Kahal, another horse who has shown a fondness for the hill, is the 3-1 second choice. The English-bred won an allowance race at the distance last month and was disqualified out of a victory in the 1999 Morvich. Brice Blanc will ride for trainer Neil Drysdale.

Completing the field, from the inside out, are Bonotto, Lexicon, Flick, Shadow Creek, Montemiro, Lord Smith, Echo Eddie, Men’s Exclusive and Rampaging Alf.

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Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. has clinched his first Oak Tree riding title since 1982. Heading into the final program, Pincay leads Victor Espinoza, 30-25.