Racing! Big win for Jerry Hollendorfer and CTT

Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as Rob Henie digs deep on today’s Del Mar analysis.

As most know by now, Jerry Hollendorfer can return to Del Mar and race his horses. The news, which was telegraphed by a judge’s opinion on Thursday, was made final on Friday, after both sides argued their case. But, since the judge had already tipped his hand, it was really not much more than an exercise in completing the process.

You can probably expect Hollendorfer to have horses entered at the end of next week. Technically, the ruling only delayed any action by Del Mar. But the Oct. 25 arbitration hearing date means Hollendorfer is safe the rest of the meeting, which closes on Labor Day.

Tod Leonard of our sister paper the San Diego Union Tribune, was in the courtroom on Friday. You can read his story here.

Let’s try and put what happened in perspective.

First, while Hollendorfer is the beneficiary, the real key to winning was the California Thoroughbred Trainers, who in its agreement with the track had a provision that these types of disputes, if not settled, needed to be resolved with no less than arbitration. That was the winning hand that was dealt.

Meanwhile, Del Mar put up a defense that mentions a fear of “bad PR.” While I’m not an attorney, this does not scream compelling. What was it that FDR said about fear?

It seems as if the track could have fallen back on the fact that it can run its business as it chooses. But it would have still had to overcome the written agreement between the track and CTT. That’s why they have judges to decide those things.

On the surface, this looks like a defeat for Del Mar, and publicly that is its stance. But, privately, I believe the track is very content with this ruling. It takes the onus off. If horses under Hollendorfer’s care are injured, the track can shrug its shoulders and say, “We were under court orders. There was nothing we could do.”

I believe Del Mar never wanted any part of this story. Santa Anita put Del Mar and others in a very difficult position when it banned Hollendorfer. The judge just threw the track a life preserver.

Now, this is just round one. You can expect similar litigation to be filed against Golden Gate Fields, which opens Aug. 15, and Santa Anita, which opens Sept. 27. Both tracks already have signed agreements with the CTT that are nearly identical to the one with Del Mar. There is no such agreement between the CTT and Del Mar for its November meeting.

Just because it played out one way in San Diego doesn’t mean it will play out the same way elsewhere.

And, finally, where is the California Horse Racing Board in all of this?

There’s this rule 2043, which says: “A complaint alleging a violation of any provision of an agreement between a horsemen’s organization and a racing association may be filed with the Board by either of the contracting entities. The Board shall immediately investigate the allegations and may refer the complaint to the Board of Stewards appointed for the meeting where the violation is alleged to have occurred, or refer the matter for hearing under the provisions of Rule 1414 of this division.”

Here’s guessing the CTT either has or is contemplating filing such a complaint, putting it in the CHRB’s court. But, much like Del Mar, the CHRB wants no part of this mess that Santa Anita has put on everyone’s plate. But, uh, doesn’t the CHRB have a regulatory duty to deal with this if a complaint is filed?

So, this is just getting started. How it eventually ends up will be interesting to see and no doubt will create lots of billable hours.

Weekly handicapping lesson

It’s time for our weekly handicapping lesson from Rob Henie of the WCHR (West Coast Handicapping Report) and the ECHR (East Coast Handicapping Report). The thinking is if you can know and understand the strategies, it will make you a better handicapper.

Today’s lesson is from the ninth race at Del Mar. Rob, take it away.

“This is a maiden special weight at a mile on the turf. So, entering Saturday’s racing, there have been nine debut winners at the meet, and we’ve had six of them, including top picks of $56, $12, etc. For years the WCHR has been known for our debut winners (last year we had 22 of the 23 between August and December). Many believe we’ve got a secret clocker, or “inside info,” when the reality is, I’ve never looked at a workout report (though someone showed me one a few years back), and nope, we don’t have any inside info. All our debut winners are based on the premise of knowing how each trainer on the circuit, brings his or her horses into the race, when winning, and losing. It took years to accumulate these patterns and tendencies, but once we started diligently studying the info, it became apparent pretty quickly, and even more so today, as to which runners are well meant, and which ones are in need of a race. Keep in mind though, the words well meant, don’t necessarily translate to being good enough, but without those key words, the outcome has already been decided, at least for today. With that in mind, top selection here is ANTIGONE (#5). Trainer Simon Callaghan used to train in Britain, where turf and longer races are more prevalent, but considering his roots, it’s been interesting that he’s gained the reputation of being a speed type of trainer, often debuting very fast runners. That point by itself is important, as his runner here Saturday, is given two turns on the turf, right off the bat. Despite the competitive fields through the first couple weeks, there’s still plenty of room when entries have been taken to get into the races. It means Simon could have given her the race early in the meet, and then returned her long later on, so the fact they debut her Saturday, going long, on the turf, with Drayden Van Dyke up are all signs of a well meant effort against a pretty mediocre group for the level. The door should be wide open if she’s good enough. We’ll also note, this one’s dam has had eight other foals, with seven of the eight, winners on the track. Mike McCarthy has two runners in here, the 2 and 3, and most would assume since Flavien Prat rides the 2 that she’s more well meant. But actually, a trainer might want a guy like Prat to ride a horse in need of some solid handling which often means teaching the horse during the race. Keith Desormeaux does this often, giving a leg up to his brother Kent, while the more live horse is ridden by another. We’ll side Saturday with DOLCI (#3), ridden by Ruben Fuentes, working nicely for a trainer who’s good at spotting his horses, thus going long at first asking is likely a good indication as to what the horse wants. Now, the points we made about the top choice, apply to this first timer as well, as Fuentes is a solid versatile rider, able to ride on the lead, or, from off the pace, both with success.

“Hot / Cold Race Trends: none

“Win Contenders (order of preference): 5-3-2

“X Out Runners (eliminating on the win end): 8

“First Timers:

“2 Imprint - McCarthy’s other runner, we’ll include in the mix as well.

“4 Augure - Will need the debut for Mandella.

“9 Lakaya - Hess, slow drills, typical for Bob, while Roman’s been riding many live horses for the barn, interesting.

“TOP PICK: ANTIGONE (#5 6-1 Van Dyke) Debut

“SECOND CHOICE: DOLCI (#3 10-1 Fuentes) Debut”

^{The West Coast Handicapping Report can be found at http://www.westcoasthorseracing.com It has been endorsed by leading trainers, handicappers and industry sources.}

Polls are closing soon

On Wednesday, we took the questions posed to 140 industry people in New York about the use of Lasix in that state. The response was underwhelming, so we thought we would poll our readers. So, hopefully we’re not on poll overload. We’ll give you the results on Monday.

The questions:

--Should non-Lasix races be written in California? (vote here)

--Should Lasix be banned for 2-year-olds? (vote here)

--Should there be a dosage reduction requirement on race day? (vote here)

And, if that’s not enough, we wondered if you think racing should return to the 6 ½ downhill course at Santa Anita.

--Should sprint racing return to the downhill turf course? (vote here)

Del Mar review

The feature on Friday was the $150,000 California Dreamin’ Stakes for Cal-breds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. A lot of stuff happened in the race and in the end Grecian Fire bested both traffic problems and a stewards’ inquiry to win the race by a length.

But maybe the headline was that Grecian Fire was a Hollendorfer horse that was moved to the Keith Desormeaux barn. His previous race was a third in the Bertrando Stakes at Los Alamitos for Hollendorfer.

The stewards looked at the race when Grecian Fire appeared to cause some interference to his outside after he was taken up sharply when The Hunted appeared to bore in on him. The rider and horse were absolved by the stewards.

It appeared as if What a View ran a tactical enough race to win from the front but he tired in deep stretch allowing Grecian Fire and The Street Fighter to pass him. Grecian Fire paid $8.20, $5.00 and $4.00.

Here’s what the connections had to say:

Keith Desormeaux (winning trainer): “I can tell you this ... everyone is looking for superlatives right? I’ve never seen anything like that. In a stake, how do you recover from something like that and close the way he did. It was a little unnerving because on the live shot it looked like a no-brainer: the six came over on him, clipped heels and overreacted. It took a while and they shouldn’t do that to us.”

Mike Smith (winning jockey): “My goodness, I got hit hard on the turn there. The six horse (The Hunted) came over and hit me hard. I was lucky we didn’t go down. It was good they ran that :22 and :45 early. That allowed me to come late and get up, even after what happened. If I don’t get hit, I win by 10.”

Del Mar preview

The first Grade 1 of the season comes during Saturday’s nine-race card starting at 2 p.m. And, if you are a maiden, there are five races for you. Four races are on the turf.

There are actually two stakes, the first being the $150,000 Real Good Stakes for 3-year-old Cal-breds going seven furlongs. It’s the smallest field of the day with five.

Cruel Intention gets the favorite role at 6-5. He’s trained by Bob Baffert and Joe Talamo gets his first ride on the colt. He’s two-of-three lifetime and has won a Cal-bred stakes. He’s coming off a five-furlong bullet.

Lieutenant Dan is the second favorite at 2-1 for Steve Miyadi and Van Dyke, who got off Cruel Intention to ride this gelding. He’s a bit more experienced having won three of eight. He has also won a Cal-bred stakes. Post time will be about 3 p.m.

The Grade 1 $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes is for horses going six furlongs. The winner gets a free pass in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The favorite is an East Coast shipper Recruiting Ready at 2-1. He’s trained by Stanley Hough and will be ridden by Prat. He’s won seven of his 21 races. He won a Grade 3 earlier this year at Gulfstream and is coming off third in the True North at Belmont Park.

Cistron get second-favorite honors at 5-2. He runs for John Sadler and Victor Espinoza. He won the Kona Gold two races back. His lifetime stats are four wins in 26 starts. Post time is around 5:30 p.m.

Here are the field sizes, in order: 6, 8, 5, 9, 10, 10, 10, 8, 10.

Big races preview

A look at graded stakes or races worth $100,000 or more on Saturday. All times PST.

1:49 Woodbine (8): $125,000 Shady Well Stakes, Ont-bred fillies 2-years-old, 5 ½ furlongs. Favorite: Owlette (8-5)

2:44 Saratoga (9): Grade 1 $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap, 3 and up, 6 furlongs. Favorite: Mitole (1-1)

3:00 Del Mar (3): $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes, Cal-breds 3-year-old, 7 furlongs. Favorite: Cruel Intention (6-5)

3:18 Saratoga (10): Grade 2 $250,000 Bowling Green Stakes, 4 and up, 1 3/8 miles on turf. Favorite: Channel Maker (7-2)

3:51 Saratoga (11): Grade 2 $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes, 3-year-olds, 1 1/8 miles. Favorite: Tacitus (7-5)

5:30 Del Mar (8): Grade 1 $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes, 3 and up, 6 furlongs. Favorite: Recruiting Ready (2-1)

Bob Ike’s DM pick of the day

EIGHTH RACE: No. 6 Chief Cicatriz (12-1)

Excellent edition of the Grade 1 Bing Crosby with a good mix of locals and shippers comprising the eight-horse field of sprinters. Let’s go with ultimate professional Chief Cicatriz, whose 10 for 15 record has been accomplished over many different tracks and class levels, including a huge win in the Aristides at Churchill Downs (110 Beyer figure) last year. He has tactical speed, is drawn well outside and rider Ruben Fuentes is having a very good meet.

Friday’s result: Flying to the Line ($8.20) got to the front as we had hoped, turned away a couple pace rivals and dominated through the lane.

Bob Ike is a Partner/VP of Horsebills.com (here’s a video) and the proprietor of BobIkePicks.com (full-card picks, 3 Best Plays and betting strategy).

Ed Burgart’s LA pick of the day

THIRD RACE: No. 4 Fayvorite Chick (7-2)

She had an uncomfortable trip in last fifth-place trial outing when lugging in behind fastest qualifier Pitbull before the 1/16-pole. Filly didn’t have a good start in fourth-place debut two outs ago and leveled with nice stride too late. She appears to have the most upside while only making her third start here.

Final thought

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And now the stars of the show, Friday’s results and Saturday’s entries.