Golden Moments

Hollywood Park management got it right when choosing Sunday to honor Laffit Pincay.

A salute to the world’s winningest jockey, who was forced to retire this spring because of injuries suffered in a spill March 1 at Santa Anita, is a natural prelude to the 64th Hollywood Gold Cup.

The track’s signature race has belonged to Pincay more than any other rider. Nine of his 9,530 victories came in the Gold Cup.

While those who will see Sunday’s tribute probably will wish instead they were watching Pincay try to win a third consecutive Gold Cup, they’ll have to be satisfied with remembering his successes in the race, beginning with Pleasure Seeker in 1970.

Pincay’s first victory in the Gold Cup, which had a value of $162,100 compared to the $750,000 of 2003, wasn’t on a California-bred, but four later victories (Ancient Title, Crystal Water, Super Diamond and Sky Jack) were. He also won with a Triple Crown champion (Affirmed), twice for training master Charlie Whittingham (Perrault and Greinton) and even when he didn’t finish first.

Aptitude, who provided the Panamanian with his eighth victory in the 1 1/4-mile race in 2001, was the second horse to win on a disqualification. (Eleven Stitches was the other in 1981).

A look at each of Pincay’s Gold Cup victories:

1970 -- After finishing fourth with Rising Market in 1968 and ‘69, Pincay teamed with the 4-year-old Pleasure Seeker to make his third Gold Cup appearance the charm.

Pleasure Seeker, the 2-1 second choice behind 3-2 favorite Baffle, who suffered a leg injury while finishing sixth, saved ground throughout, then took over in the final quarter of a mile to win by 3 1/2 lengths.

“I remember coming through on the rail with him,” Pincay said. “[Former jockey] Bill Mahorney was on the lead [with eventual runner-up Neurologo] and I saw him start to drift out, but when I got there, he started coming in again. It was real tight, but I got through and we won pretty easily.”

1975 -- This one was never in doubt. Ancient Title, a gelding, had little trouble with his six opponents.

The 7-5 favorite after finishing second to Tree of Knowledge the previous year, Ancient Title broke on top and went on to beat Big Band by 4 1/2 lengths.

“He went to the lead and just kept on going,” Pincay said. “He could run short or long, but he was definitely better when he was in front.”

1977 -- When the track shows replays of memorable Gold Cups, the 38th race is part of the package.

The 2-1 favorite, Crystal Water battled through a rapid half (45 1/5), drew clear after a mile, then prevailed in a thriller. The 4-year-old son of Windy Sands beat filly Cascapedia by a neck with Caucasus a nose back in third.

“He ran his guts out that day,” said Pincay, the admiration genuine all these years later. “He went to the lead and I knew we were going fast, but at the same time, he felt like he was going easy, like he had plenty left.

“What a good race he ran that day. He made me feel like every time I wanted to ask him for something, he would give it to me. When Cascapedia came to him, I hit him a couple of times and he responded.

“Sometimes, he liked the whip and sometimes he didn’t. The time before, when he won the Californian, he didn’t like the whip. He was OK with it that day.”

1979 -- Affirmed, unquestionably the best horse Pincay rode, was tested from the start in what was his final race in California.

The 3-10 favorite and 132-pound highweight -- no horse has carried more than 127 pounds to victory since -- was engaged from the outset by Sirlad. They raced as a team throughout, with Text and jockey Bill Shoemaker in close attendance. After Text retreated, Affirmed asserted his superiority in the final yards and won by three-quarters of a length.

Little wonder Pincay, whose face brightens at the mere mention of the chestnut’s name, says this was the most impressive of his Gold Cup victories.

“What can I tell you about Affirmed?” he said. “He was on the inside all the way and being on the inside at Hollywood Park is tough. Coming down the stretch, I had a lot of horse. [Sirlad] kept coming, but Affirmed just kept looking at him. You know Affirmed. He was a fighter. What a great race. He carried 132 pounds and went 1:58 2/5. That was running.”

1982 -- Bred in England and raced on turf exclusively at the beginning of his career, Perrault developed into a fine main track runner for Whittingham. More than three months after he was disqualified from a victory in the Santa Anita Handicap, the 7-10 favorite beat Erins Isle by a length.

“This guy was another running machine,” Pincay said. “I think he was better on the turf, but he was good on the dirt, too.

“He was the type of horse who you could put on the lead or take him way back. He loved to run.”

1985 -- Greinton, another former grass star who was able to make a name for himself on dirt for Whittingham, and even-money favorite Precisionist turned the Gold Cup into a virtual match race for most of the trip.

The speedier Precisionist had a two-length advantage with a quarter of a mile to run, but Greinton took over leaving the eighth pole and went on to win by 1 3/4 lengths.

“I loved that horse,” Pincay said. “He went out there to run and he was tough. If I had to choose between them, I thought Greinton was a better horse than Perrault. I was very high on him.

“He had a big heart. He tried every time he went out there. He was a little difficult to ride because he ran with his head down, but he was a runner.”

1986 -- This win aboard Super Diamond -- Precisionist was the beaten favorite again, finishing third at 9-10 -- also brought back painful memories for Pincay.

Some three weeks before the race, he had torn ligaments in an ankle when involved in a spill. Pincay had continued to ride, but the pain was so intense, he did something extremely rare for him -- he took a couple of days off.

“The morning of the Gold Cup, [the late] Dr. [Robert] Kerlan gave me a shot for the pain,” he said. “It didn’t hurt as much, but it still hurt. I was limping after the race.

“Super Diamond was a trier, but he wasn’t as consistent as some of the good horses I rode. Sometimes he would get rank. There were times I wanted to take him back, but he would get tough with me and I’d end up on the lead. That day I was able to place him where I wanted.”

2001 -- Pincay had to wait a long time to win the Gold Cup again and he needed help from above to do so.

Aptitude, who raced without mishap, benefited because original winner Futural allegedly bothered Skimming, Aptitude’s entrymate and third-place finisher, nearing the wire. This prompted the stewards to disqualify Futural and place him third.

“When I came back and I saw the re-run, I didn’t think anything was going to happen,” he said. “Then, I saw it again, and I thought, ‘Wait a minute, [Futural] bumped [Skimming] pretty hard.’ Every time I saw it, I thought it looked worse.

“It’s always satisfying to win a race like the Gold Cup. It doesn’t matter how you get it.”

2002 -- Sky Jack wasn’t among the most talented horses to win the race, but the gray gelding, who overcame two knee operations and a near-fatal bout with colic, certainly didn’t lack heart.

Never more than a half-length in front at any stage, the Jaklin Klugman gelding and 19-10 second choice fought off Momentum the entire stretch to win by a nose.

“I was hoping he would have enough,” Pincay said. “Once he made the lead, he relaxed. Coming down the stretch, he started to get tired. He didn’t have the kick I thought he would, like he had given me before [when winning the 2000 Native Diver Handicap at Hollywood Park]. That day, he had unbelievable acceleration. It was one of the most impressive performances I could remember.”

Sky Jack didn’t show the same burst last July 14, but did enough to make what proved to be Pincay’s final ride in the Gold Cup memorable.