Quality Accents Meet

There will be no post-Breeders’ Cup blahs at Hollywood Park, not with a bevy of horses that ran less than two weeks ago at Belmont Park scheduled to return during the 31-day season that starts today at the Inglewood track.

Tiznow, the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and again a horse-of-the-year candidate, and Val Royal, who won the Breeders’ Cup Mile, head the list of Belmont holdovers, although neither is definite for the Hollywood meet and Tiznow’s future as a racehorse is even in question. Mike Cooper, the majority owner of the colt, reportedly will be in Kentucky this week, listening to breeding proposals from horsemen there.

Immediately after Tiznow’s second Classic win, Cooper seemed certain that the horse would return next year as a 5-year-old. A race still under consideration for Tiznow is the $250,000 Hollywood Turf Cup on Dec. 1. None of Tiznow’s 15 starts--or eight wins--has come on grass, but a turf win might give horse-of-the-year voters another reason to cast their ballots for Cooper’s horse. A year ago, Tiznow locked up the title with a win in the Classic, but this time he faces a more formidable voting rival in Point Given, who was near-perfect in his all-out blitz of the 3-year-old division.

It’s an understatement to say that Val Royal hasn’t run very often--the Breeders’ Cup Mile was only his third start in two years--but trainer Julio Canani said that the French-bred 5-year-old is a possibility for the $500,000 Citation Handicap on Nov. 24.

Another Breeders’ Cup horse that might run in the Citation is Swept Overboard, who despite racing on the inside--not the place to be--at Belmont finished fourth, beaten by about one length, in the Sprint. For the Citation, Swept Overboard has grass experience, including a win in the Robert K. Kerlan Memorial at Hollywood in June. Another option for trainer Craig Dollase at this meet is the $200,000 Hollywood Turf Express, which will be run at 51/2 furlongs--the same distance as the Kerlan--on Nov. 23. The Citation is 11/16 miles and Swept Overboard has never run farther than seven furlongs.

More definite than Tiznow for the Hollywood Turf Cup is Timboroa, who led the Breeders’ Cup Turf until the eventual winner, Fantastic Light, collared him at the eighth pole. The Bobby Frankel-trained Timboroa ran second and third in two starts over the Hollywood Park lawn last summer.

Another Frankel trainee, Starine, could run in the $500,000 Matriarch at Hollywood on Nov. 24. Starine, one of the favorites in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, was an early factor before finishing 10th.

Frankel needs only two wins at the meet to become the second Hollywood Park trainer to reach the 800 milestone. The record belongs to the late Charlie Whittingham with 859. Frankel is running Mizzen Mast, a French import who has been off the board in his two United States starts, in today’s Bien Bien Stakes.

Other Breeders’ Cup horses that might run at Hollywood include Officer, who needs to redeem himself in the Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 15; Spain, the Distaff runner-up who’s probable for the Bayakoa Handicap the same day as the Futurity; Came Home, another Futurity possible; Spook Express, a candidate for the Matriarch after running second to Banks Hill in the Filly and Mare Turf; Habibti, who’ll try to rebound from the Juvenile Fillies in the $200,000 Starlet on Dec. 16; and Caller One, a good third in the Sprint and likely for the $100,000 Vernon O. Underwood on Dec. 2.

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Cee’s Song, the dam of Tiznow, was sold Tuesday at a Keeneland auction for $2.6 million.

The broodmare was sold to Gerry Dilger of Dromoland Farm in Lexington, Ky., to help settle the estate of Cee Straub-Rubens, the breeder and owner of Tiznow who died three days after his first Breeders’ Cup win in 2000.

Cee’s Song, a 15-year-old, is in foal to Cee’s Tizzy, a mating that resulted in Budroyale as well as Tiznow.

Those two horses have combined to win $9.2 million.

Hollywood Park Meeting

* Dates: Today-Dec. 17 (31 days).

* Post times: 12:30 p.m daily (Wednesday-Sunday) except for 7 p.m. Friday and Nov. 16, and 11 a.m. Nov. 22.