Longshot Gets the Green Light

Hanging on the back wall of trainer John Dolan’s office at Barn 106 at Santa Anita is a montage from the day he saddled three winners at Del Mar.

That was Sept. 3, 2000. The Dolan barn struck again at Santa Anita on Feb. 16 when he notched three more wins. Dolan hasn’t gotten around to framing something from that day, but if his hot hand continues today in the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap, the walls won’t have room for anything else.

Some handicappers are saying that Dolan’s 5-year-old California-bred, Irisheyesareflying, doesn’t belong in the 64th Big ‘Cap. After all, a year ago at this time Irisheyesareflying was running in $40,000 claiming races. But when post positions were drawn Thursday, there was Dolan’s horse at a respectable 10-1 on the morning line, next to Tiznow, reigning horse of the year and 8-5 favorite, and other contenders Wooden Phone, Guided Tour and Bienamado.

Dolan isn’t apologizing for running Irisheyesareflying, a non-stakes winner, against this classy bunch.

“He ran second going 1 3/8 miles at Del Mar last year, so that tells me this distance [1 1/4 miles] won’t be a problem,” Dolan said. “[Jockey Kent Desormeaux] and I have now figured him out. He needs to be sent [to the lead] from the start, not rated. And I’d be happy if it rained some more. That race he won [on Jan. 27] shows that he just loves the mud.”

Dolan’s gold-and-green barn logo is adorned with a cartoon of a scrappy leprechaun, both dukes up. His 30 horses are fitted with green halters. Based on the trainer’s obvious lineage, it seemed inevitable that Dolan’s first Big ‘Cap starter would be a horse named Irisheyesareflying, but Dolan had to claim the horse twice for that to occur.

In February 2000, Dolan claimed Irisheyesareflying for the first time, from trainer Art Sherman for $40,000 at Santa Anita. The horse ran third the day Dolan took him, and had won only three of 16 starts at the time. A month later, Irisheyesareflying ran third again, as trainer Ahmad Salih claimed him away from Dolan for $40,000. Then on May 12, at Hollywood Park, Irisheyesareflying hung up still another third, with Dolan reclaiming him for $50,000.

“I usually don’t claim a horse back after I’ve lost one,” Dolan said. “But this horse was sound and he had been running well, so I decided to do it.”

There have been no regrets. Irisheyesareflying lost three in a row, but one loss was a strong second to Six Zero, a horse trainer Bobby Frankel was high on at the time, and another was a fifth, beaten by less than three lengths, when Road To Slew won the California Cup Mile. Dolan didn’t bring Irisheyesareflying back to the races until late January, and he’s undefeated this meet at Santa Anita, winning a sprint on an off track and capturing an optional-claiming mile for $100,000 horses on Feb. 16.

Irisheyesareflying was the first of the three winners that Dolan saddled that day. He lost the two other winners via claims by other trainers, but this is the turnover game that the 40-year-old Dolan plays with a stable that’s usually in flux. The barn’s current fulcrum is Lazy Slusan, a 6-year-old mare that Dolan claimed from trainer Mike Machowsky for $62,500 at Del Mar last summer. In her next start--the day Dolan won three at Del Mar--Lazy Slusan earned $81,720 for winning the Solana Beach Handicap. Since then, she has won three times in ungraded stakes company and was a solid third, behind Feverish and Gourmet Girl, in the Grade II Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park.

With 37 starters this winter, Dolan has won nine races for a good 24% clip. His horses have finished in the money 57% of the time. He already has matched his win total for the entire Santa Anita season a year ago. Overall last year, Dolan had 22 winners, with an 18% win rate.

“Last year at Santa Anita, I did it with 14 horses,” Dolan said. “This year, I’ve got 30 to work with. I think people noticed that I’ve been doing well and started sending me more horses.”

Irisheyesareflying, bred by Sharon and Wes Fitzpatrick, was claimed away from his breeders for $12,500 long before the quid pro quo between Dolan and Ahmed Salih. He is a son of Flying Continental, a horse that Tiznow’s conditioner, Jay Robbins, trained. Flying Continental ran in two Big ‘Caps, finishing third in 1990 and ninth in 1991.

“We’re going to send my horse hard,” said Dolan, hardly concealing Irisheyesareflying’s game plan. “If they want to chase us, we’ll just have to see what happens.”

Horse Racing Notes

Although 36% of the favorites have won the Santa Anita Handicap--about the same percentage as all races--General Challenge, last year’s winner, is the only favorite to win in the last eight years. . . . The last high weight to win was Best Pal, who was co-high weight with Twilight Agenda in 1992. . . . Kona Gold, making his first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, is the 125-pound high weight for Sunday’s $150,000 San Carlos Handicap. The seven other entrants will be spotted between 10 and 14 pounds by Kona Gold. . . . Serena’s Tune, the first offspring of the champion filly Serena’s Song, made her stakes debut Friday and won the $115,100 La Habra by 1 3/4 lengths. Serena’s Tune, who was sold at auction to James and Alice Sapara by her breeders, Bob and Beverly Lewis, for $1 million, has won three of four starts, the last two wins coming on grass. Serena’s Tune, whose sire is the late Mr. Prospector, was ridden by Gary Stevens, who also rode Serena’s Song. . . . The last vacancy on the seven-member California Horse Racing Board has been filled by William A. Bianco, a horse owner and retired industrialist from Saratoga, Calif. . . . Deelish, last year’s champion aged-mare quarter horse, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite from the inside post in tonight’s $258,000 Los Alamitos Winter Championship.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Big ‘Cap

The field, in post-position order, for today’s $1-million Santa Anita Handicap, a Grade I race for 4-year-olds and up that will be run at 1 1/4 miles. Television coverage for Big ‘Cap Day on Fox Sports Net starts at 4 p.m. Post time is 4:12.

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Horse Jockey Wgt Odds Perssonet Brice Blanc 110 20-1 Wooden Phone Corey Nakatani 117 5-1 Beat All Gary Stevens 113 12-1 Irisheyesareflying Kent Desormeaux 112 10-1 Tiznow Chris McCarron 122 8-5 f-Nurdlinger Jose Valdivia 110 30-1 Jimmy Z Victor Espinoza 111 12-1 Guided Tour Larry Melancon 116 6-1 f-Moonlight Charger Tyler Baze 111 30-1 Tribunal David Flores 112 15-1 Jorrocks Garrett Gomez 113 30-1 Lethal Instrument Laffit Pincay 115 15-1 Bienamado Alex Solis 119 8-1

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f-mutuel field