GOLDEN GLIMPSES #51

DOLLASE MAY TRUMP WANDESTA IN BID FOR ECLIPSE

He who wins last, wins best.

In the case of Juddmonte Farms' Wandesta, trainer/lobbyist Bobby Frankel is hoping that holds true. He is counting on the retired Wandesta's Matriarch victory over Windsharp to be fresh in the minds of Eclipse Award voters when the time soon comes to name the champion grass mare.

If voters have short attention spans, as oft times they do, then trainer Wally Dollase holds the final trump card and may play it to give his Windsharp a shot at the crown.

"The Eclipse voting figures very close," said Dollase, who has the 3-year-old filly title secure with Jewel Princess. "It's so close, in fact, I plan to run Windsharp in the Hollywood Turf Cup on Sunday. And there's nobody going to beat her in that 1 1/2-mile race, not among the colts, anyway. Right now, I would say if there's 70 voters, there might be 35 each way (for Wandesta and Windsharp). It's that close."

Windsharp owns two victories over Wandesta, but they came early in the year, and, like the Academy Awards, voter are inclined to go with what they saw last.

"The Breeders' Cup race should be a very important consideration, in my mind," Dollase said. "The fact that Windsharp ran and Wandesta didn't should be worth some points. It was an awesome race for Windsharp, to run that well against all those colts (she was beaten less than six lengths after moving up to second with a quarter-mile to run).

"The voting is to decide the best mare in America, and I can't see too many other mares doing what Windsharp did, including Wandesta. One more jump and she wins the Matriarch (Wandesta won by a half-length, but Windsharp was steadied hard into the stretch the first time and was six wide turning for home). Anything further than that mile and a quarter, because of the poor trip she had, she's a winner anyway.

"I figured out the Beyers on both horses, and believe it or not, both are 106 on the average of all their races this year, if that means anything.

"If you look at Windsharp's past performances, and you look at Wandesta's, it's hard to separate them. She did beat us the last time, but we did beat her two out of three. And I think that's what you have to go by."

But not necessarily.

There will always be 1993, when Brocco had the 2-year-old colt championship in his feed bag after a smashing victory over Dehere in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.

But his connections opted for one more start, a seeming lay-up in the Hollywood Futurity. Brocco was upset by Valiant Nature and ultimately lost the Eclipse Award by one vote. Brocco is paying the price to this day. Breeders now are more inclined to send their mares to Dehere because of his championship status.

ABOVE THE TABLE -- Cal-bred mare is so sharp now she uncharacteristically outran the speed for front-running turf win, and Eddie D. never touched her with the stick. Has enough in the tank for repeat

ICE SIS -- Rallied from far back to finish fourth in debut after tardy start. Shouldn't tarry long among maiden claimers.

THE HOMESTRETCH: Helmsman, a disappointing sixth in the Citation Handicap, suffered a minor injury in the race and will be out four months, said Dollase, whose 2-year-old filly Reading Habit, scintillating in winning her debut by three lengths, also is sidelined. "She has a respiratory ailment and will be at Golden Eagle Farm for two months," Dollase said . . . Bet on Corey Nakatani, who carries a single-digit handicap, to post the best score among jockeys on the newest world-class golf course, Primm Valley Golf Club in Nevada on Monday. Nakatani, Kent Desormeaux, Chris McCarron and Eddie Delahoussaye are among the jockeys expected to compete, while Craig Lewis (Larry The Legend) and Jerry Fanning are among the trainers. The course was designed by Tom Fazio, who has had seven of his layouts voted Best New Course of the Year by Golf Digest . . . Laffit Pincay Jr. is still near his peak as he approaches age 50 on Dec. 29, but the dedicated jockey is scraping for mounts. Pincay, who incredulously has been on a 600-calorie per day diet for two decades, finds some trainers reluctant to give him mounts because he tacks 117 pounds, but several of his high-ranking contemporaries are Jenny Craig candidates, also checking in at 117. How tough is it for Laffit? He had only one ride last Thursday, a 21-1 shot in the final race. Most jocks would have called in sick. But Pincay rode, beating just two horses. Pincay had 8,487 victories through Dec. 7, and needed 347 to top Bill Shoemaker's record 8,833. Pincay had 118 wins for the year. At that pace, he would reach Shoe's mark just before the year 2000. One of the best Pincay tales comes from his former agent, Vince DeGregory. "It was back in 1971," DeGregory recalled. "My (late) father, Jim, came to the races one day and Laffit had eight mounts. My dad asked me which had the best chances, and I gave him four horses. They all got beat, ran second, I think. The other four won." . . . Russell Baze, who won five straight races on Dec. 4 and has won 400 races five years in a row, owns Northern California racing. Maybe the tracks should be called Golden Baze Fields and Baze Meadows.

Send e-mail to Ed Golden

The Running Horse (http://www.isd1.com/)