Island Fashion Joins the Race for Eclipse

A 3-year-old filly made her case for an Eclipse award with an emphatic victory in the $250,000 La Brea Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita.

Only it wasn’t the member of the class most expected going into the second Grade I of the meet. Elloluv, who had been first or second in five of her first seven starts in 2003, ran poorly as the 6-5 favorite, finishing sixth.

Rather, it was Island Fashion who staked her claim for year-end honors. A 9-1 shot ridden by Kent Desormeaux, she was never far off the pace, took the lead away from 7-1 shot Randaroo into the stretch, then drew away in the final eighth of a mile to win by six lengths. She completed the seven furlongs in 1:21.79.

Owned by Jeff Nielsen’s Everest Stables Inc. and trained by Marcelo Polanco, Island Fashion is a legitimate candidate for the championship in a division with no clear-cut leader.

The La Brea was her second Grade I win of the year; she had won the Alabama at Saratoga when trained by Barclay Tagg in August. She also won a Grade III at Delaware Oaks. In last month’s Matriarch, a Grade I on the turf, she was fourth but was only beaten by three-quarters of a length by Heat Haze.

All told, the gray daughter of Petionville has won four of 10 this year. Her latest victory gave the Chilean-born Polanco, 43, his first Grade I score.

“Kent told me he was going to see who was going [for the lead] and who wasn’t going,” said Polanco. “He had the best post position [the outside] to see who was doing what, so I left it up to him and the filly was awesome.”

“She’s a super filly,” said Desormeaux, who rode her for the first time Saturday. “She was that good today, an absolute armchair ride.”

Randaroo, who had won three in a row, finished 1 1/2 lengths clear of 8-1 shot Buffythecenterfold. Then came Hope Rises, Acago, Elloluv, Bartok’s Blithe, Gone Exclusive, Stellar and 4-1 second choice Atlantic Ocean. Princess V. was scratched Friday.

Jockey Corey Nakatani, whose only win in four starts on Elloluv came against maidens Nov. 10, 2002, still says she deserves the Eclipse despite her no-show Saturday.

“Horses can’t be their best all the time,” he said. “She’s run hard all year. She ran against older the last few times and those races may have taken a little of the punch out of her. I look forward to getting her freshened up and back next year.”

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Silent Sighs, the 3-5 favorite, rolled to a three-length victory over 9-5 second choice Yearly Report in the $125,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes at Santa Anita.

Trained by Julio Canani for owner-breeders Pam and Marty Wygod, the 2-year-old Benchmark filly won for the second time in three starts, completing the seven furlongs in 1:22.12 under jockey David Flores.

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Mike Paulson, the owner of Azeri, confirmed Saturday night that the 2002 horse of the year will return to training, this time with trainer Wayne Lukas at Santa Anita.

Azeri was sidelined shortly before the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in October with a tendon injury, which prompted her trainer, Laura de Seroux, to recommend that she be retired.

“We have had Azeri examined by two independent horse clinics in Lexington (Ky.),” Paulson said. “Her tendons were sound, and there were no signs of tendinitis.”

Paulson, who split with De Seroux around the time of Azeri’s injury, will send six other horses to Lukas, who said that he had never trained for the Paulson family. Mike Paulson’s late father, Allen Paulson, bred Azeri, who despite the end of an 11-race winning streak is a contender for best older filly or mare this year. Lukas, permanently based at Churchill Downs, is wintering at Santa Anita.

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Loving, a 19-1 shot, won the $83,925 Gallant Fox Handicap at Aqueduct as if he should have been the odds-on favorite.

Winning for the fifth time in 10 starts on dirt, the 7-year-old Thundering Force gelding won by 7 3/4 lengths under jockey Jose Espinoza. A Brazilian-bred owned by Sanford Goldfarb, Lawrence Roach, John Ketcham and Chris Carney and trained by Richard Dutrow Jr., Loving covered the 1 5/8 miles in 2:45.08.

Nothing Flat, a 6-1 shot, was second and 4-1 third choice Fisher Pond was third. Tailfromthecrypt, the 5-2 favorite, finished seventh.

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The pick four at Santa Anita paid a record $124,199 thanks to upsets in the last three legs of the wager by Island Fashion, 14-1 shot Hemet Thought and 24-1 outsider Splendid Nature. The highest previous pick-four payoff was $69,703.80 on Feb. 23, 2001.

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Times Staff Writer Bill Christine contributed to this report.