A Most Unpleasant Reality for Big ‘Cap

The 67th Santa Anita Handicap today is expected to be without its 6-5 favorite, Pleasantly Perfect, who will join a long list of hard-luck horses unable to run in the Arcadia track’s premier race for older horses.

The Big ‘Cap hex has struck again. Richard Mandella, who trains Pleasantly Perfect, said that he planned to scratch the 6-year-old, whose temperature soared to 102 degrees -- one or two degrees above normal -- when it was taken at the barn Friday morning.

“The chances are very slim that we will run him,” Mandella said. “I’m waiting until [today] to scratch, on the odd chance that we might find a reason -- such as a loose tooth -- for the high temperature that he had.”

Later Friday, Pleasantly Perfect’s temperature fell to normal readings of 100 or 101 degrees.

“If we ran him and he was a little sick, it would turn into pneumonia,” Mandella said. “I couldn’t take that chance. I can only hope that it’s not much of a deal and it’ll get by.”

Mandella said that when Pleasantly Perfect’s temperature dropped, it was a sign that there was nothing seriously wrong with the horse, who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita in October and returned this year to convincingly win the San Antonio Handicap. Tests Friday showed that there was nothing wrong with the horse’s blood count.

“It’s likely that he has a virus,” Mandella said.

With Pleasantly Perfect out, the favorite’s role in the $1-million, 1 1/4-mile race shifts to Southern Image, who has won four of five starts, including two wins at this Santa Anita meet. Olmodavor, also trained by Mandella, becomes the starting high weight at 119 pounds, four less than Pleasantly Perfect. Six other horses are entered, including Buddy Gil, last year’s Santa Anita Derby winner, and Island Fashion, who’s a longshot to become the first filly or mare to win the race. Next in the weights after Olmodavor are Southern Image with 118 pounds and Buddy Gil with 117.

Pleasantly Perfect’s defection deprives the Big ‘Cap of much-needed luster. Medaglia d’Oro, perhaps the best older horse in training, is skipping the race for the second straight year, this time to run in a $6-million race, the Dubai World Cup, on March 27. Last year, Medaglia d’Oro was pulled from the Big ‘Cap because his trainer, Bobby Frankel, thought that a 124-pound weight assignment was unfair.

Domestic Dispute, winner of the Strub on Feb. 7, has also passed on the Big ‘Cap because of the Dubai race.

Mandella had hoped to run Pleasantly Perfect in both the Big ‘Cap and in Dubai, but now his plans are uncertain.

“There may be a chance that we’ll go to Dubai,” he said. “The next few days will tell the story.”

As far back as 1956, the Santa Anita Handicap has struggled to get the best horses in the starting gate. That year, Swaps, winner of the Kentucky Derby the year before, was scratched. Swaps suffered from a career-long heel injury and would have been facing an off-track. Swaps won six of nine starts the rest of the way, including the Hollywood Gold Cup, and was voted horse of the year.

Holy Bull, the reigning horse of the year, was unable to run in the 1995 Big ‘Cap. Cigar and Skip Away, who also won horse-of-the-year titles, missed the Big ‘Cap for physical reasons. A bruised foot, discovered the day before the race, prompted the scratch of Derby winner Silver Charm, the 4-5 favorite, in 1998. Three weeks later, Silver Charm won the Dubai World Cup.

Mizzen Mast, who would have been the Big ‘Cap favorite in 2002, suffered a cracked hoof and couldn’t run. Frankel, who trained Mizzen Mast, still won the race with Milwaukee Brew. Frankel kept Medaglia d’Oro in the barn last year and won again with Milwaukee Brew. Frankel had nominated Peace Rules for today’s race but chose to run him last Sunday, when he won the New Orleans Handicap at the Fair Grounds.

Mandella won successive Big ‘Caps in 1997-98 with Siphon and Malek. The trainer ran 1-2-3 in 1997 with Siphon, Sandpit and Gentlemen. If Olmodavor won today, it wouldn’t be the first time Mandella bagged the race with what was perceived to be his second string. In 1998, with Silver Charm sidelined, Gentlemen went off at a top-heavy nickel on the dollar, but bled from the lungs and finished last in a four-horse field. Malek saved the day for Mandella.

“I was crying one minute, laughing the next,” Mandella said when he recalled that race earlier this week.

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The entry of Gradepoint and Breakaway is the 3-1 favorite in Sunday’s $600,000 Louisiana Derby, which drew 11 horses. This is the field, in post-position order: Borrego, Breakaway, Wimbledon, Shaniko, Stolen Time, Shadowland, Pollard’s Vision, Indian War Dance, Gradepoint, Fire Slam and Nightlifeatbigblue.