Kudos Are in Order for Turnaround

Kudos increased his winning streak to four since being gelded with a victory over Indigo Myth by three-quarters of a length in the Jim Murray Memorial Handicap Saturday at Hollywood Park.

Kudos, trained by Richard Mandella, had been winless in seven starts before being gelded. He broke his maiden on March 17 at Santa Anita and followed up with two victories in allowance company before making his stakes debut in the Jim Murray, which is named after the late Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist of The Times.

“Gelding him was the best thing we ever did,” said assistant trainer Derek Oldham, who saddled Kudos while Mandella was in Singapore with Lazy Lode for a $1.65-million race. “The horse wasn’t [hard to handle], but it was just decided to geld him. It’s helped him concentrate and mature more. He’s just blossomed and he’s more focused on racing now.”

It has been serendipity for Jerry and Ann Moss, who bred and race Kudos. The 4-year-old has earned $192,000 lifetime, all but $22,000 since being gelded.

In winning Saturday, Kudos--ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye--led all the way, running the 1 1/2 miles on turf in 2:26 3/5. He was also favored for the first time in his 11-race career and paid $3.60.

Completing the order of the four-horse field were Piranesi and Floriselli. The other entered horse, Guillamou City, was scratched.

“With the scratch, we knew our horse would probably be in front,” Delahoussaye said. “The only question was whether he could go a mile and a half. He did everything right, and finished full of run.

“He absolutely has become a different horse since they gelded him. If horses are not well-bred and are having trouble performing at their best, they should be [gelded]. The first time I got on this horse after he was gelded, I could see a big difference. His attitude was entirely different. He was focused and he ran hard.

“I think he could have a very nice future.”

Indigo Myth, ridden by Alex Solis, was unable to give trainer Bobby Frankel his sixth win in the Jim Murray.

This was the second time a Mandella-trained horse wonthe Jim Murray. His other winner was Lazy Lode in 1999. Saturday in Singapore, Lazy Lode led early before fading to eighth in a race that Endless Hall won by three-quarters of a length over Jim And Tonic. Laffit Pincay, who rode Lazy Lode, is the leading rider at the current Hollywood meet.

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Trainer Bob Baffert faces a possible six-month suspension and a $10,000 fine because one of his horses tested positive at Hollywood Park for morphine last year, but his attorney, Neil Papiano, says the case should be thrown out.

A Baffert-trained horse, Nautical Look, tested positive for morphine after winning an allowance race at Hollywood on May 3, 2000, while Baffert was at Churchill Downs, preparing Captain Steve to run in the Kentucky Derby. Papiano has questioned the legality of racing’s trainer-responsibility rule and said Friday that his client is likely to challenge any ruling in the courts if the penalty is too severe.

Baffert won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in 1997-98 with Silver Charm and Real Quiet. He won three consecutive Eclipse Awards for trainingfrom 1997-99, and this year his horses have earned almost $8 million. Scott Lake, the No. 2 trainer on the national money list, has a purse total of $3 million.

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A memorial for horse owner Ben Rochelle, who died Thursday, will be held during Monday’s racing card at Hollywood Park. (See story, B13).