West Coast Suits Willow O Wisp

Willow O Wisp was an underachiever last year in Florida: He ran in claiming races, he struggled through four races before he broke his maiden, and a switch from dirt to grass didn’t help. Overall, he won one of seven starts.

But since he was sold and transferred to the California barn of trainer Vladimir Cerin, Willow O Wisp has been near perfect. In five grass races, four of them stakes, he has had four wins and a second. His latest conquest came Monday at Del Mar, where he fought off numerous challenges for a front-running, one-length win in the $400,000 Del Mar Derby.

“This horse has got a lot of heart,” is what Jim Hatchett, a bloodstock agent, told Cerin’s client, Robert Alexander of Las Vegas, before the horse was sold.

Garrett Gomez, who has ridden Willow O Wisp in all his California races, concurs.

“I had to work for it some, but he was up to the task,” Gomez said. “He just ran and ran and ran. He’s some horse. He’s awesome.”

Paying $7.40 as the mild favorite, Willow O Wisp set a record for Del Mar’s grass course, which is producing a bagful of fast times. The 1 1/8 -mile Derby was run in 1:45.85, which erased the 1:45.87 clocking by Special Ring in 2003.

Tedo ran second, nosing out Osidy, the third-place finisher. Tedo’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, made a foul claim against Willow O Wisp, alleging interference leaving the gate, but it was disallowed.

“My horse’s main asset is speed, and that was taken away from him at the start,” O’Neill said. “We were pinched by horses on both sides, and I’m not sure who was at fault. There have been so many controversial stewards’ decisions at this meet, that I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

O’Neill saddled Bro Lo, who won the I’m Smokin Stakes to start the card. Later, Total Impact, winless in six starts since winning the 2004 Hollywood Gold Cup, won the Windy Sands Handicap.

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Trainer Peter Miller, whose filly, Road Runner Robyn, suffered a career-ending tendon injury in Sunday’s first race, is appealing a stewards’ decision that has disallowed a $62,500 claim of the horse.

Two horses -- Miller’s and Rena De Sonora -- were claimed out of the grass race, but the stewards declared the race a “no contest” and voided the claims after Thatcher’s fatal breakdown interfered with most of the seven runners. Almost $1 million in bets was refunded.

Bob Hess Jr. said that he and another trainer put in pre-race claims for Road Runner Robyn; and Kim Sawyer, one of the stewards, said that there were also two claims for Rena De Sonora. Under normal circumstances, the trainers would shake numbered pills to determine which of their claims would be allowed.

“Every horse in the race was a non-starter after it was declared a no-contest,” Sawyer said. “And non-starters, according to the rules, can’t be claimed.”

Neither Road Runner Robyn nor Rena De Sonora finished the race, but three horses did. Jose Valdivia Jr., who rode Thatcher, suffered a hairline fracture of his right foreleg.

Citing California Horse Racing Board rules, Miller said that in his opinion, Road Runner Robyn wasn’t a non-starter. Miller pointed to a section that reads: “ ‘Starter’ means a horse when it is in the starting gate stall, and when the field is dispatched by the starter, the stall gate in front of the horse is opened.”

In another section, Miller said, there is a paragraph about claimed horses that reads: “Title to a horse which is claimed shall be vested in the successful claimant from the time the field has been dispatched from the starting gate and the horse becomes a starter; and said successful claimant becomes the owner of the horse whether it be alive or dead, sound or unsound, or injured during the race or after it.”

Miller said that he has hired a lawyer to dispute the stewards’ decision. “I’m a small guy, but I’m not going to take this lying down,” Miller said. “I own the filly, and she’s worthless as a racehorse now. There’s no precedent for something like this. It’s a travesty. They’ve left me holding the bag.”

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The outside post in a 14-horse field didn’t prevent Sun King from winning the $750,000 Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park by 4 1/2 lengths. Sun King, part of a Nick Zito-trained entry with Indy Storm, who finished 11th, was the 7-5 favorite and ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:40. Southern Africa was second and Smokescreen finished third.