GOLDEN GLIMPSES #42 GOLDEN GLIMPSES #42 GRASS IS GREENER, BUT WAIT FOR OTHER SEED TO DROP
There was so much sand kicked up on Santa Anita's turf course last season it was called Sahara Anita.
It was referred to as the track "Where the turf meets the sand."
No more.
After spending $2.3 million for a new course some two years ago, and another $500,000 to bring it up to snuff after last spring's meet, the Arcadia grass course looks like the 18th green at Augusta, or at least a surface Minnesota Fats would have been happy to hustle on.
It is verdant, aesthetically appealing, no sand is being kicked up, and it no longer looks like a scene out of Wuthering Heights.
The early reviews have been positive.
"I think it's fair," said Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye just after he won the first stakes race run on the refurbished course. He rode a 17-1 shot named Dixie Pearl to an impressive come-from-behind victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Autumn Days Handicap on opening day.
"They ran a route of ground in one race (the fifth), and the horse (King Chulombo) laid close and finished and won. And horses were also coming at the end in that race, going a mile-and-an-eighth.
"Coming down the hill (at 6 1/2 furlongs), they were really rolling up front and it set up for my filly a little bit. But the way my filly was running, I don't know if it would have made any difference, if I had been back further or closer to the lead. As long as she was relaxed, she really ran.
"The turf course is great. It's not like the last turf course we had. There's no sand being kicked back at us. So whatever they did, hopefully, this is it and it will be great the rest of the year and in years to come."
Racing secretary Tom Knust took a more cautious approach, however.
"We're real happy with what we've seen now," Knust said. "But we've got a couple ways to go, with the transition between Oak Tree and the Santa Anita winter meet.
"We have high hopes and positive feelings about it, but we still want to see what happens through this meet, and how it goes when we overseed with the annual rye grass and put it into the Bermuda."
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES:
OUR VIRTUALREALITY -- Craig Lewis-trained 2-year-old did bunny hop at the start, costing a length, then was bogged down on rail the rest of the trip while showing good speed. Won't tarry long among maidens.
SHIRTTAIL FLYING -- Very rank into first turn while breaking from No. 1 post in turf route, showed good courage into stretch before fading late.
SIX POINT EIGHT -- Went well throughout to finish third despite stepping up to maiden allowance level, indicating victory is not far off.
THE HOMESTRETCH: Corey Nakatani, dealing with the death of his 22-year-old sister, Dawn, took off his mounts Thursday and Friday after riding on opening day. Dawn died Tuesday night, the day before Santa Anita opened, a victim of strangulation, according to police. Word on the backstretch was that Dawn's former boyfriend, 26-year-old Alfred Guieterrez, was the culprit. "Afterwards," said one source, "he went to his mother's place and told her, 'I did it.'" Dawn's funeral was Tuesday in Whittier. Agent Richie Silverstein's wife, Michelle, is organizing a 5k run in Dawn's name with benefits going to fight domestic violence. Silverstein handles business for Martin Pedroza . . . On-going talks are taking place between the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the Thoroughbred Owners of California and representatives of the tracks, with a common aim: the best possible racing surfaces at Southern California's tracks. The ultimate goal is greater safety for the horses. There have been instances, according to one trainer, where dirt from the track packs in a horse's hooves, and when the dirt is removed, it comes out in a brick-hard, fist-sized clump that won't break even when thrown to the ground. If you can't judge what it feels like for a horse to run under such circumstances, imagine running with a tennis ball taped to your arch . . . If the $15 million financing package is obtained by Fairplex Park, it could provide a state-of-the-art training facility by the end of 1998. It would consist of a new 7/8 of a mile turf course, and expansion of the present 5/8-mile main track to one mile. The Los Angeles County Fair track enjoyed the most successful season in its 58-year history, with a record total handle for 19 days of $103,298,938, topping last year's $95,729,940. That was attributable to New York and Santa Anita taking the signal for the first time, but with Santa Anita just 20 miles west of Pomona down the autobahn-like 210 Freeway, on-track attendance was down 17.4 percent and on-track handle plummeted 22.7 percent. Overall, however, attendance was up 5.9 percent and handle increased 7.4 percent, and these days, folks, that is the bottom line . . . Retired stakes winner The Tender Track is training for a comeback -- in the 2000 Olympics. The venerable gelding is being schooled in dressage by trainer Barry Abrams' wife, Diane . . . You may not see Skip Away in the Breeders' Cup Classic, what with a supplemental fee of $480,000, but expect him to be invited to the Dubai World Cup next year . . . Trainer Sonny Hine, asked if Skip Away was the 3-year-old champ after conquering Cigar: "Are the others still trying? That Lukas can sell anything, but not this." . . . How ornery is Bob Baffert's 8-year-old stakes-winning sprinter, Letthebighossroll? He's taken a piece out of every one of Baffert's grooms and hot walkers. He's so evil, he'd be an ideal character in a Steven King novel. He should have been named Letthebighossalone . . . If Roberto Alomar has any kids, I sure hope they're not his spittin' image.
The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/alauck)
