Surfside Not Up Again for Santa Anita

Surfside’s last-place finish in the $200,000 Santa Maria Handicap may have done more than eliminate the filly from the Santa Anita Handicap. Her trainer, Wayne Lukas, walked out of Santa Anita late Sunday, wondering if he should ever run the champion filly at the track again.

“Maybe we’re pushing the envelope by running her here,” Lukas said. “She doesn’t run the kind of races here like she does at other tracks. I know she’s won at Santa Anita, but she seems to do better every other place we go.”

After battling Feverish through the opening three-quarters of a mile, Surfside collapsed by the time the field reached the quarter pole and was beaten by almost eight lengths as Lovellon, winning her first race since leaving Argentina, beat Feverish by a neck in 1:43 1/5 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track. With three scratches--two that will run in today’s Buena Vista Handicap--only five ran in the Santa Maria. Critikola ran third, three-quarters of a length behind Feverish, and Miss Of Wales was fourth, four lengths better than Surfside.

Lovellon, ridden by Gary Stevens, is another of those Argentine imports that thrive in trainer Ron McAnally’s barn. The best have been Bayakoa and Paseana, who besides winning the Santa Maria in the early 1990s also combined for four Eclipse Awards. Surfside’s loss at 3-5 odds Sunday recalled Bayakoa for a dour reason: Near the end as a 7-year-old in 1991, McAnally’s mare was 1-5 when she ran last in the Santa Maria, the year after winning the race.

Lovellon, who races for London-based Gary Tanaka, was bought late in 1999, for an undisclosed price, after winning four of eight starts in her homeland. McAnally said that the price dropped $100,000 after Lovellon’s poor effort in finishing fifth on turf in the Argentina Derby.

McAnally had never trained a horse for Tanaka before, but when Andy Smith, Tanaka’s racing manager, heard that they were both bidding on the filly, he called McAnally and said: “Let’s just one of us bid, and if we get her, you’ll train her.”

Lovellon made her U.S. debut with a last-place finish on grass at Hollywood Park last June, but McAnally’s long-range plan was to run her on dirt. Last August, on the main track at Del Mar, Lovellon finished last again, pulling a hip muscle in the race. She didn’t return to action until mid-January, finishing second behind Feverish in the Paseana Stakes at Santa Anita.

“It’s too early to compare her with the others,” McAnally said. “Surfside is not heavy and robust, and I thought maybe--maybe--they might be bringing her back too soon. I thought Feverish might put some pressure on Surfside, but there was not that much pressure.”

Assigned 111 pounds, Lovellon carried five pounds of Stevens’ overweight and paid $18.40 as the fourth choice. Surfside ran with 121 pounds.

Surfside won three times at Santa Anita last winter, but now she’s lost three in a row there, including last year’s Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Monica Handicap--also at 3-5--three weeks ago.

“Last time, the track was greasy and we thought we had an excuse,” said Surfside’s jockey, Pat Day. “But this is a good racetrack and there was no excuse today. I just think she has shown an obvious dislike for this racing surface.”

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The Kentucky Derby isn’t until May 5, but already Chris McCarron is playing a strong hand. McCarron, who has won the Derby twice, rides Millennium Wind, one of the best 3-year-olds in California, and on Sunday he traveled to Louisiana to ride Dollar Bill to a convincing 2 1/2-length win over 18-1 shot Gracie’s Dancer in the $125,000 Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds.

McCarron could be forced into an early decision between the two colts if trainer David Hofmans runs Millennium Wind on March 11 in the Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds, because that’s also Dollar Bill’s next scheduled start. Hofmans’ other option is staying at home and running in the San Felipe at Santa Anita on March 17.

Dollar Bill, running 1 1/16 miles in 1:43 2/5 and paying $3.80, didn’t beat a stellar field, but his strong run through Fair Grounds’ long stretch equates to a horse who’ll have no problem with 1 1/4 miles at Churchill Downs. Dollar Bill is trained by Dallas Stewart, a former Wayne Lukas assistant.

McCarron had never ridden Dollar Bill, but he was impressed by the colt’s last start, an off-track win in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill almost three months ago.

“This race shows me that he’s improving with every start,” McCarron said. “When you put him in the game, he knows what to do. He’s won at three tracks and in the slop, so I’m quite excited.”

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In another stake at Santa Anita, Kerrygold--winless in three starts since arriving from France--was a 1 1/2-length winner over Beat All, the 4-5 favorite, in the $77,984 San Marino Handicap.

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The Bobby Frankel-trained entry of Uncharted Haven and Dancingonice is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in today’s Buena Vista Handicap. Frankel is also running Out Of Reach.