The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com)LIT DE JUSTICE, ABAGINONE HEAD FIELD FOR BING CROSBY BREEDERS' CUP
Lit de Justice, named top sprinter of last year's Del Mar meeting, and Abaginone head a field of six sprinters in the 51st running of the Grade III Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Sunday at Del Mar.
If all six start, the purse will be $206,750, with the winner's share being $124,050.
WINNERS OF SAN CLEMENTE, SAN DIEGO COME OUT OF RACES WELL
True Flare, victorious in Saturday's San Clemente Handicap in her first start in the United States, came out of the race in good order, trainer Robert Frankel said Sunday morning. The daughter of Capote scored impressively in the one mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies that serves as a prep for the Grade I Del Mar Oaks, to be run August 18.
Frankel indicated that the Oaks would be next for the Juddmonte Farms runner who came to Frankel's barn at the beginning of July.
Savinio, who's made a name for himself on the turf, made a switch to the dirt pay off Saturday with a win in the San Diego Handicap. Trainer Walter Greenman said the 6-year-old son of The Minstrel came out of the race in fine shape. More dirt races may be in the horse's future, Greenman said.
"LARRY" ADDS A CHAPTER TO HIS LEGEND WITH SOLID COMEBACK EFFORT
It was obvious as he paraded on the track and as he ran that Larry the Legend hadn't lost the popularity that grew up around his rags-to-riches story in 1995 as he swept through the Santa Anita season on his way to victory in the Santa Anita Derby.
And, off his gritty second-place finish in a Del Mar allowance race Saturday, it appears he hasn't lost much of his racing talent, either. Knee chips and two operations have kept the son of Local Talent out of action for 16 months, ever since the Santa Anita Derby, but his comeback effort Saturday indicates that more will be heard from him.
Nobody was any happier with the outcome than owner/trainer Craig Lewis, who has nursed the 4-year-old bay colt back to health twice. Lewis had him on the comeback trail earlier, but a second operation was needed, which put him on the shelf again.
A smiling Lewis reported Sunday morning that Larry the Legend came out of the race in good order, and he will begin training the colt toward an appearance in the Longacres Mile on August 18 at newly opened Emerald Downs, in Auburn, Washington.
After the race, Lewis said he was pleased - and relieved. "I didn't know what the horse would do," Lewis said. "You never know. I was very pleased with his race. We let him train himself. We didn't try to get him too tight for this race. We just wanted him tight enough so he wouldn't hurt himself, and it worked out the way we wanted."
Lewis said jockey Kent Desoreaux told him "Larry" felt good, and Lewis added, "The nice thing about this horse is that he's cooler than me and Kent put together. He makes us look good."
PHIL GLEAVES HAPPY WITH MOVE WEST, HOPING FOR BIG DEL MAR MEET
Phil Gleaves, for several years a fixture in the training ranks in New York and Florida, has made what he considers a permanent move West and he's happy with the swith so far. He moved his stable to Santa Anita late in the meeting and then got into full swing at Hollywood Park, where he registered four victories and had nine other in-the-money finishes in 18 starts.
He's already racked up his first win at the Del Mar meeting, scoring with Dazzling Devil on Friday.
"I've been very happy with the way things have gone," a smiling Gleaves said. "Basically, I came out here because I wanted to stop the constant moving around I was doing on the East Coast. Unfortunately, I lost a big client in Due Process Stable when they went bankrupt last year. That put a big dent in my operation, so I came out here and pretty much started from scratch. I came out here with only six horses; now I've got 17."
Among his clients are Bruce Lunsford, a relatively new owner; longtime client Russell Reinemann and the well established Ryehill Farm.
Gleaves, who rode as a jockey in his native Great Britain and in other European venues, arrived in the United States on April Fool's Day 1977. "I had $60 in my pocket and no job," he said with a chuckle. However, it didn't take him long to hook up on the racetrack. He went to work as an exercise rider for Lucien Laurin for several months and then joined the barn of Woody Stephens. He stayed with Stephens for eight years before going out on his own 10 years ago.
The 39-year-old Gleaves remains amazed at one of Stephens' innovations that improved the racing of the fine runner Miswaki. "The horse kept trying to get out when he galloped and when he raced," Gleaves said. "Woody tried just about everything and nothing helped. Then he hit on the idea of attaching a scraper [used to scrape the excess water from a horse's coat following a bath] to the bridle right by the horse's right eye. When the sun hit that it made quite a bright light, and the horse quit trying to get out."
SHORE LINES: Hollywood Gold Cup winner and Pacific Classic prospect Siphon worked a mile Sunday in 1:39 3/5 .... Alyrob, who finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby and came out of the race with an infection, is back in serious training at Wallace Dollase's barn. The trainer says he hopes the 3-year-old son of Alysheba will be ready to run in the Ascot Stakes at Bay Meadows and the Hollywood Derby at Hollywood Park .... Dollase expressed satisfaction with the 5- furlong grass work by Helmsman on Saturday. The Pacific Classic prospect went the distance in 1:01 2/5 .... Gentlemen was an impressive winner of an allowance race Saturday at Del Mar. Trainer Richard Mandella said the 4-year-old colt would be brought along patiently.
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