‘Hertz Wins With Frequency

Megahertz may not be the best horse Bobby Frankel has trained, but the diminutive mare is certainly one of the hall of famer’s favorites.

Making her first start since a narrow loss against males in the Hollywood Turf Cup on Dec. 4 at Hollywood Park, the English-bred daughter of Pivotal, who trailed for the first three-quarters of a mile, unleashed her powerful stretch run to win the $150,000 Santa Ana Handicap on Sunday at Santa Anita.

Owned by Michael Bello and ridden by Alex Solis, who gets along better with her than any other jockey, Megahertz, the 13-10 favorite, made it 11 wins in 29 starts with her half-length decision over 8-1 shot Katdogawn in the Grade II. She completed the 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:47.95 and now has seven wins in 11 starts on the Arcadia grass.

This was the second time in a row Megahertz finished first in the Santa Ana, but she was disqualified and placed last on March 27, 2004, for causing interference with about an eighth of a mile to run.

“She has to be one of my favorites,” said Frankel after his sixth win in the Santa Ana since 1992. “She’s little, and she just does things that amaze you all the time. It brings tears to my eyes to watch her run. She should have a fan club.

“It’s just unbelievable. You watch them and they’re 10 lengths in front of her and you think she’s got no chance and here she comes.”

Katdogawn, who was able to get through along the rail while the winner came widest of all, finished 1 1/2 lengths in front of pacesetter Valentine Dancer, then came Hoh Buzzard, Barancella, who is also trained by Frankel, Stupendous Miss and Belle Ange.

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Roman Ruler, who finished last as the lukewarm 3-1 favorite in Saturday’s San Felipe Stakes, has been taken out of consideration for the Kentucky Derby by trainer Bob Baffert.

A winner of three of his four starts as a 2-year-old, the son of Fusaichi Pegasus, who is owned by Fog City Stable, had been idle since finishing fifth as the 2-1 choice in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Oct. 30 before the San Felipe. He has been hampered by foot problems.

“After he broke and got squeezed, then he got rank on him [jockey Gary Stevens],” said Baffert, who at this point is without a legitimate contender for the Derby, a race he won three times from 1997 to 2001. “[That left front foot] has been plaguing him even though we’ve been trying to get him there with a Band-Aid approach.

“I just need to stop on him and let that [quarter crack] grow out properly. I had to run him to find out if he could make it. If he didn’t run Saturday, he was going to be completely out of the picture. Gary took care of him. Roman Ruler’s a good horse, and I’m going to have to cut that quarter out. He needs three weeks of doing nothing to let it heal.”

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Apprentice Rajiv Maragh, 19, picked up the first graded stakes win of his career when 5-1 shot Lilah went wire to wire in the $100,000 Hurricane Bertie Handicap on Sunday at Gulfstream Park.

The 8-year-old Defrere mare won for the fifth time in 11 starts over the Gulfstream main track and her third in a row. Owned by Hobeau Farm and trained by Allen Jerkens, Lilah ran the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.45.*

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Triple Crown Ratings

Tribune Co. ratings for 3-year-olds leading up to the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes:

Number. Horse; Jockey; Trainer; St; W; P; S; Last Race; Next Race

1. Sun King; Edgar Prado; Nick Zito; 6; 3; 0; 2; Tampa Bay Derby (1st); Blue Grass Stakes

2. Consolidator; Rafael Bejarano; Wayne Lukas; 9; 3; 1; 1; San Felipe Stakes (1st); Blue Grass Stakes

3. Greater Good; John McKee; Bob Holthus; 7; 5; 0; 1; Rebel Stakes (1st); Arkansas Derby

4. Rockport Harbor; Stewart Elliott; John Servis; 5; 4; 1; 0; Rebel Stakes (2nd); Arkansas Derby

5. High Fly; Jerry Bailey; Nick Zito; 5; 4; 0; 1; Fountain of Youth (1st); Florida Derby

6. Survivalist; Richard Migliore; Shug McGaughey; 5; 2; 2; 0; Gotham Stakes (1st); Wood Memorial

7. Sweet Catomine; Corey Nakatani; Julio Canani; 6; 5; 1; 0; Santa Anita Oaks (1st); Santa Anita Derby

8. High Limit; Ramon Dominguez; Bobby Frankel; 3; 3; 0; 0; Louisiana Derby (1st); Blue Grass Stakes

9. Bandini; John Velazquez; Todd Pletcher; 4; 2; 1; 0; Fountain of Youth (2nd); Florida Derby

10. Noble Causeway; Pat Day; Nick Zito; 5; 2; 2; 0; Allowance (1st); Florida Derby

Triple Crown panel: Bill Christine, Los Angeles Times; Tom Keyser, Baltimore Sun; Dave Joseph, South Florida Sun-Sentinel; Liam Durbin, Chicago Tribune; Paul Moran, Newsday.