Citation Left With Watered-Down Field

Those eager to see Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Val Royal in action again will have to wait until the $2.3-million Hong Kong Cup on Dec. 16.

About 90 minutes before Saturday’s $500,000 Citation Handicap, with rain and wind pounding Hollywood Park, owner David Milch and trainer Julio Canani decided to scratch the 6-5 morning-line favorite.

Watching the winner of the $200,000 Generous Stakes struggle to complete a mile on turf in 1:401/5, nearly eight seconds off the course record, helped clinch the decision for Milch and Canani.

“The course is very deep,” Canani said. “The horse is doing great, but we didn’t want to take any chances.”

Val Royal wasn’t the only entrant in the Grade II who decided to wait for another day. Four others--Lord Jim, Purely Cozzene, Fighting Falcon and Takarian--were scratched, leaving a field of seven.

When the Citation was over, Good Journey, part of the favored three-horse entry that also included I’ve Decided and El Cielo, gave jockey Chris McCarron his first victory in the race since he won with Beldale Lustre in 1983.

Trained and partially owned by Wally Dollase, Good Journey, a 5-year-old son of Nureyev, out-finished Decarchy to win by a half-length in 1:441/5 for the 11/16 miles. The entry paid $5.40.

Moved prematurely by jockey Chris Emigh in a Grade III stakes at Hawthorne earlier in the month, Good Journey responded to the significant rider upgrade and earned his first stakes win and his third in 10 starts overall.

“He’s been touting me for a long time,” Dollase said. “He’s had problems with his feet and the soft ground probably helped him.

“This horse has a real good three-eighths-of-a-mile run. He really kicks in. He did today. Chris, of course, rode him perfectly.”

Losing for the first time in his fourth race in this country, Decarchy, the 7-2 third choice, finished two lengths in front of Irish Prize, the 2-1 second choice. Then came I’ve Decided and El Cielo (who completed the entry), Quake, Native Desert and Sarafan, who was eased through the stretch by rider Victor Espinoza.

“He fought hard,” Kent Desormeaux said of the runner-up. “He re-headed the winner three times trying to get back in front of him, so there was certainly no lack of effort on his part. There was a war on from the quarter pole home. I was very proud of him.”

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Mountain Rage, a 5-1 shot, found a soggy turf course to his liking, edging 2-1 favorite Miesque’s Approval to capture the Generous.

Trained by Bob Baffert, who won two other races Saturday, for his girlfriend Jill Moss and George Jacobs, the 2-year-old Mecke colt won by a head for his second victory in five starts.

“Everybody was having problems out there, struggling because the track is so soft and soggy,” said winning rider David Flores. “But my colt never gave up. I just kept trying and he kept trying.”

Miesque’s Approval, who had won three of five in New York before shipping west, finished 41/2 lengths in front of 18-1 shot National Park.

“He ran great,” McCarron said of Miesque’s Approval. “He’s very genuine. I just wish I had exercised a little bit more patience. I think I should have waited just a little bit longer, but that’s the way it goes.”

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Jockey John Velasquez swept all three stakes Saturday at Aqueduct, including the final Grade I of the year in New York.

Two of the three wins came for trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the day’s biggest event, the $350,000 Cigar Mile, with favored Left Bank. This came two races after Smok’n Frolic romped in the $200,000 Demoiselle.

Sandwiched between the two victories by Pletcher was Velasquez’s score on favored Saarland in the $200,000 Remsen.

A 4-year-old French Deputy colt owned by Michael Tabor, Left Bank won for the 11th time in 20 starts. Left Bank completed the Cigar in 1:33 in beating Graeme Hall, also trained by Pletcher, by a little more than three lengths.

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Repent, second to Johannesburg in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, won the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes over a sloppy track as Churchill Downs wrapped up its fall meet.

The odds-on favorite, Repent, a 2-year-old son of Louis Quatorze, won for the third time in five starts for owner Select Stable and trainer Ken McPeek. Tony D’Amico was the rider.

Belterra, the 6-5 favorite, remained unbeaten in three starts with a victory in the $200,000 Golden Rod.

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Kurofune, who won his main track debut a month earlier, won the $2-million Japan Cup in Tokyo.

Lido Palace, who won the Whitney Handicap and Woodward Stakes earlier in the year, finished eighth for trainer Bobby Frankel under jockey Jerry Bailey.

The final time for the winner was 2:054/5, a track record for the 15/16 miles.