GOLDEN GLIMPSES #78

Jenine Sahadi is 11 days from making racing history. If she maintains her lead in the Hollywood Park training standings, the 34-year-old Los Angeles native will become the first woman to win a training title at a major race meet.

Through Sunday, Sahadi had 19 victories, and led Mike Mitchell, who has won or shared 16 Southern California training crowns, 19-15, entering the final 11 days.

Pete Pedersen, august racing official, author, humorist and gentleman, not necessarily in that order, has seen horses come and go for 50 years, by his own count, and never in a half-century can he recall a woman winning a training title at a major race meet.

Well, times they are a changin', and if Sahadi keeps her lead, she will add another first to her growing list of accomplishments. She became the first woman to saddle a Breeders' Cup winner and a $1 million race winner when Lit de Justice won the 1996 Sprint.

Sahadi's dedication and love of her horses borders on passion. Single, Sahadi has no children, but if she did, she wouldn't treat them any better than her thoroughbreds. She is not obsessed with individual achievements, however; only with winning races.

"It's nice to be leading and, obviously, I'd love to win the meet. But if it doesn't happen, it's still been a great meet. The horses are running well, my clients are happy, and if I win the title, it'd be super. If I don't, it's not the end of the world. But it's tough to do."

And Mitchell, the prototypical claiming trainer, won't make it easy on her, and it's not because the 49-year-old Bakersfield native says he's gotten cool responses from Sahadi after he claims one of her horses. Fact is, he has nothing but respect for her as a trainer.

"I claim off her and I think that tends to irritate her," Mitchell said. "Maybe as time goes on, she'll realize we're all in this to make a living. I say hi to her when I see her, but when I claim off her, she's a little cold. I just think she's young and she's got to learn. But she's done an unbelievable job. She's done well with claiming horses and with good horses."

Mitchell's barn is more active than the Phillies' bullpen. And if he beats Sahadi, he says it will be because he has the numbers. "I run more horses than she does," Mitchell said. "When you have a barnful of claiming horses like I do, if they run a bad race, you can place them at a lower level and try to win. But Jenine has a lot of expensive horses, and once they're knocked out of their conditions, there's not much you can do."

Sahadi cites a rested barn and a good understanding of the condition book for her success this meet.

"I think I had some fresh horses coming in, and I've been realistic in running horses in places they could win and be their most competitive," Sahadi said. "I haven't sacrificed horses, but been very realistic as to where they could do their best.

"I've been very lucky and had clients who have been real patient. If their horses needed time off, or had to be gelded, or whatever, nobody complained. They just left me alone and that made my job a lot easier."

Despite trailing, Mitchell thinks he should be favored to win the title.

"That's because I have claiming horses. I'm sure Jenine will not run a horse out of line (just) to win it, and I won't either. If she's one in front the final week and needs a win, she wouldn't run a horse to clinch if it didn't fit. She's been running her horses where they belong and she runs 'em where they can win.

"Another thing about her -- her horses always look like a million dollars. When I claim her horses, it's because I know she takes care of them. It's not because I know I can move them up. For example, I claimed Daggett Peak for $62,000 and he won for $62,000. (But) he's won for $62,000 and $80,000 for Jenine. I didn't bump the horse up.

"What I'm trying to do is claim a horse that's sound and is worth the money. Jenine takes good care of her horses. They're always in good shape when I get them. They look good and they're healthy. She doesn't over-race them. She just does an awesome job."

CONTENDER -- Consistent son of Saratoga Six did not benefit from rail trip. Better post is all this one needs to capture allowance sprint.

OUR GOLDEN PROMISE -- Overdue grass campaigner seems set to register victory at handsome payoff, no surprise from Mel Stute barn.

THE HOMESTRETCH: Free House is likely to make his next start in the Swaps Stakes on July 20, but trainer Paco Gonzalez probably would have preferred the Haskell at Monmouth on Aug. 3 and a rematch with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Silver Charm. "The horse is ready to run now," Gonzalez said of the Preakness runner-up and the third-place Derby and Belmont finisher. "When the Swaps was moved from July 13 to the 20th, that didn't help us, because if we run on the 20th, we can't make the Haskell, because it would be too close. I asked if Hollywood could move the Swaps back to the 13th, but they can't, because they have TV commitments for the 20th." . . . Sahadi on the stud career of cantankerous Lit De Justice, who could be a handful at the starting gate in his racing days: "He's doing great as a stallion. At last count, I think he had 67 mares in foal out of 81. I'm very, very happy with him, but his personality is still there. After he gets through breeding, they can't get him to leave the breeding shed. It takes them about 20-25 minutes to get him out. Carol and C.N. (Ray, owners of Evergreen Farm, one of Sahadi's principal clients) have been there to watch him breed and say it's been pretty exciting. He's stubborn and he doesn't want to leave. They finally get him out of there in the morning and he's rarin' to go for the afternoon session." Lit De Justice stands at Frank Stronach's Adena Springs farm in Kentucky . . . Another promising stallion is 1992 juvenile champion Gilded Time, sire of Overbrook Farm's unbeaten Tremont winner, Time Limit, who broke his maiden by 18 1/4 lengths at Monmouth for Wayne Lukas. "The way he's going, he's going to be very close to the being the leading sire of juvenile runners," said Darrell Vienna, who trained Gilded Time. "His first crop is running very, very well."

Send e-mail to Ed Golden

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