Disappointing Day for a Trio of Favorites

It was an upsetting day in the handicap division in three different parts of the country Saturday.

Perfect Drift, a 6-1 shot who had failed in four previous appearances in Grade I races, edged 7-10 favorite Mineshaft in the $856,500 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs.

This surprise came about 30 minutes after Iron Deputy, the least accomplished member of the field for the $250,000 Brooklyn Handicap and the longest shot in the Grade II at 6-1, led virtually throughout over yet another sloppy track at Belmont Park.

Things were more normal at Hollywood Park. Kudos, the 19-10 second choice, came from last to win the $400,000 Californian by half a length over Piensa Sonado. The win in 1:47.91 for the 1 1/8 miles was the second in the Hollywood Gold Cup prep in the last four years for trainer Richard Mandella.

Making his first start since finishing third behind Medaglia d’Oro in the Oaklawn Handicap on April 5 in Arkansas, the 6-year-old gelding earned his seventh win in 23 starts for his owners, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss. Alex Solis rode Kudos, who is due back for the $750,000 Gold Cup on July 13.

“He was as good as he could be today,” said Mandella. “I thought he looked good and comfortable. He’s run well like that before, so [being last early] didn’t concern me.”

Western Pride, the 6-5 favorite, set the pace, then took up sharply on the turn -- while being outrun -- and wound up sixth, beating only Wooden Phone. There was an inquiry regarding the incident approaching the stretch, but no change was made to the order of finish.

The Californian was one of the few races jockey Patrick Valenzuela, who was aboard Western Pride, did not win. He had five victories on the card to give him 46 for the meet, leaving him tied for the lead in the standings with Victor Espinoza.

Owned by Stonecrest Farm and trained by Murray Johnson, Perfect Drift, who finished third behind War Emblem and Proud Citizen in the 2002 Kentucky Derby, beat Mineshaft, who had won six of his first seven starts in the U.S., by a head in a rapid 1:47.55 for the 1 1/8 miles. The final time was just a shade off the track record of 1:47.28 set by Victory Gallop when he won the Foster in 1999.

The win enabled jockey Pat Day to win half of the four stakes Churchill Downs ran Saturday.

He also took the $111,100 Northern Dancer with 11-10 favorite Champali. You, the 1-2 choice, won the $327,900 Fleur De Lis Handicap, for owner Ed Gann and trainer Bobby Frankel under jockey Jerry Bailey while 9-2 shot Sand Springs won the $231,000 Regret.

More than five weeks after an allowance win over only four opponents, Iron Deputy stepped up in the Brooklyn and handled the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Classic hero (Volponi), multiple graded stakes winners (Evening Attire and Harlan’s Holiday) and the runner-up in the recent Metropolitan Handicap (Saarland).

The lightweight at 114 pounds, the 4-year-old Silver Deputy colt, who is owned by Susan and John Moore and trained by Jimmy Jerkens, won in 1:47.84 for the 1 1/8 miles. He was ridden by Richard Migliore.

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The results of the other two stakes races at Hollywood Park were expected.

Storming Home, who had won the Jim Murray Memorial Handicap impressively in his U.S. debut last month, prevailed at 3-10 in the $350,000 Charlie Whittingham Memorial Handicap.

In giving trainer Neil Drysdale his fifth win in the race, which was formerly called the Hollywood Turf Handicap, the 5-year-old son of Machiavellian won by three-quarters of a length over 8-1 shot Mister Acpen. Ridden by Gary Stevens, Storming Home, who is owned by Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, completed the 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.66.

Stevens also got the job done on another prohibitive favorite in the $206,200 Hollywood Breeders’ Cup Oaks.

Rebounding from a subpar try over a sloppy track in the Black Eyed Susan at Pimlico on May 16, Santa Catarina, the 4-5 choice in the Grade II, rallied from last to beat 7-2 third choice Buffythecenterfold and three other 3-year-old fillies.

Owned by Bob and Beverly Lewis and trained by Bob Baffert, the daughter of Unbridled won by four lengths and ran the 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.62.