Giacomo Shows Old Style for First Win Since Derby

Jerry Moss, the owner, and John Shirreffs, the trainer, experienced another moment of ecstasy courtesy of their 2005 Kentucky Derby winner, Giacomo.

“He’s back,” Moss proclaimed Saturday after Giacomo rallied from next to last in a seven-horse field at the top of the stretch to defeat Preachinatthebar by a head in the Grade II $300,000 San Diego Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar.

“It was like the Derby,” Shirreffs said. “Here he comes.”

Giacomo had been winless in four starts since his May 7, 2005 Derby victory at 50-1 odds. This time, he was the 9-2 fourth choice in the wagering but unleashed his stretch kick with steady left-handed urging from jockey Mike Smith to win in 1:42.15.

Giacomo’s connections had been concerned with his performances after last year’s Triple Crown races. There was a third-place finish in the Strub Stakes and a lackluster fifth-place effort in the Santa Anita Handicap.

“He didn’t seem to have an appetite for it,” Moss said. “He figured, ‘Why don’t you leave me alone? I won a big race for you.’ ”

But Shirreffs put together a plan to run Giacomo three or four more times before he retires to the breeding barn, and Saturday’s win sets up a likely start in the Grade I Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 20.

“We’re so happy,” Moss said. “We started the plan on a good note.”

Overshadowed by Giacomo’s return to the winner’s circle was the triumph by Dancing Edie, a 4-year-old daughter of Moscow Ballet, in the Grade I $400,000 John C. Mabee Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the turf for fillies and mares.

Dancing Edie won by a nose over Moscow Burning, then the inquiry sign lighted up, causing worries for trainer Craig Dollase.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh no, not again,’ ” he said, remembering the scenario from 2001 when his horse, Futural, won the Hollywood Gold Cup, only to be disqualified.

This time, the stewards made no changes despite bumping in the stretch between Dancing Edie and third-place finisher Island Fashion.

It was close to a wire-to-wire victory for Dancing Edie under jockey Corey Nakatani, who was able to get his horse to set a leisurely pace before prevailing in 1:48.26.

“This filly is a fighter,” Dollase said.

Added Nakatani: “She was getting bumped and banged, and I was doing all I could to get her out of there. But she was game and kept running. You love it when they lay their body down like she did.”

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Trainers have been asked to voluntarily spread out their morning workouts as one way to help remedy an ongoing injury issue. Track officials held a meeting Saturday with trainer and owner representatives in response to seven horses having been injured in the first three days of racing. Three horses have been euthanized from afternoon injuries and one from a morning workout.

Trainer Richard Mandella said an increase in horses sent to Del Mar because of closings at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park had led to “too many horses at Del Mar trying to find the same space at the same time.”

Trainers have been requested to use later workout times to alleviate crowding.

“We have seen a marked increase in injuries, and we’re all trying to figure out what’s going on,” said Rick Arthur, the incoming equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board. “Hopefully, we’ve seen an anomaly. Time will tell.”

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At a meeting of the CHRB medication committee discussing total carbon dioxide testing for horses, Arthur revealed that 20 of the 39 blood samples taken during the Hollywood Park meeting that exceeded 36 millimoles per liter came from one trainer’s horses.

TCO2 levels increased through bicarbonate loading, known as milkshakes, is illegal in California when the level reaches 37 millimoles per liter. The mixture is said to reduce fatigue in horses. Arthur refused to identify the Hollywood Park trainer whose horses were close to exceeding the limit.

“He is very good,” Arthur said. “You have to give him credit.”