HOLLYWOOD PARK STABLE NOTES

Monday, May 29, 1995

By Vince Bruun & Ed Golden

IF IT'S GAMELY HANDICAP, IT MUST BE FRANKEL TIME

Memo to those who dare face Blue Vista, Inc.'s Possibly Perfect in Sunday's

Grade I Gamely Handicap:

Good luck, because you'll probably need it.

It's been 17 months since Possibly Perfect last tasted defeat, a fourth-place finish

in the 1994 Buena Vista Handicap at Santa Anita. Since then, she's overcome ankle problems to win four straight races including the Grade I Santa Ana and Santa Barbara Handicaps at Santa Anita.

Moreover, she's been doubly tough at Hollywood Park, where she's unbeaten in

three starts on turf including the Grade II Wilshire Handicap on May 14.

Trainer Bobby Frankel, meanwhile, has been dominant in the Gamely, winning

two of the last three runnings, and three of the last five (Toussaud, 1993; Metamorphose, 1992, and Double Wedge, 1990). And of course, the recent Hall of Famer is off to a flying start at Hollywood Park where he held a 14-12 lead over Sandy Shulman in the standings and also led all trainers with four stakes victories through Sunday.

Probables for the 29th running of the Gamely Handicap: Aube Indienne, Chris

McCarron; Don't Read My Lips, Fernando Valenzuela; Lady Affirmed, Gary Stevens; Morgana, Eddie Delahoussaye, and Possibly Perfect, Kent Desormeaux.

Possible: Cabo Queen, no rider, and Wende, no rider.

CINEMA HANDICAP ANOTHER TOUGH STAKES RACE

Fine N' Majestic is a stakes-winning son of Majestic Light who has never failed to

earn a check in nine career starts, but he could be hard-pressed to win the $100,000-added Cinema Handicap at Hollywood Park next Saturday.

"Of course, it's a tough race," said Paddy Gallagher, assistant to Bill Shoemaker

who trains the California Derby winner. "There's no such thing as an easy stakes race here."

Fine N' Majestic is two-for-three on the turf, breaking his maiden at Hollywood

Park last December, finishing second in the Pirate Cove behind Bee El Tee at Santa Anita in March, and winning the California Derby over Mr Purple, Bee El Tee and others at Golden Gate Fields on April 15.

Probable starters for the Grade III Cinema Handicap, to be decided at 1 1/8 miles

on the turf: Bee El Tee, Kent Desormeaux; Bryntirion, Corey Nakatani or Corey Black; Fine N' Majestic, Gary Stevens; Hidden Source, Nakatani or Black; In Character, Chris Antley; Longliner, Chris McCarron; On Target, Alex Solis; Oncefortheroad, Danny Sorenson, and Via Lombardia, Eddie Delahoussaye.

BO (DEREK) KNOWS HORSES AT HOLLYWOOD PARK

Hollywood Park presents the $75,000-added Bo Derek Stakes on Friday night,

and the actress for whom the race is named is scheduled to appear on horseback as she leads the post parade for the perfect "10" furlong event on the turf.

Derek starred with Dudley Moore in the film, "10," in which she portrayed a

woman who was rated a perfect "10" on the beauty scale.

Leading trainer Bobby Frankel and trainer Rodney Rash established themselves

as candidates to have their winner's circle picture taken with Bo as they announced their intention to run in the race.

Frankel expects to run Zouc Machine, while Rash said Alex The Great will go with

Kent Desormeaux in the irons.

Other probable starters for the Bo Derek include Jahafil, Laffit Pincay Jr., Liyoun,

Goncalino Almeida, and Lord Shirldor, no rider.

VAUDEVILLE HOPES TO TAKE ACT BACK TO BREEDERS' CUP

Fordell Fierce was back at Eddie Gregson's barn Monday.

But unlike the late 1970s, when he was an assistant to Gregson, Fierce didn't plan

to stick around long. Fierce, Northern California's Trainer of the Year in 1993, was in town to saddle Ron Crockett's highly-regarded Vaudeville in Monday's $500,000 Hollywood Turf Handicap (Gr. I), and while in Inglewood, Fierce had the Grade I winner stabled at Gregson's shedrow.

Vaudeville, whose lone 1995 race was a good second to Unfinished Symph in the

Grade II San Francisco Mile Handicap at Golden Gate Fields, faces an ambitious campaign, according to the pragmatic Fierce. The goal is to have the 4-year-old son of Theatrical primed for the Breeders' Cup Turf at Belmont Park on Oct. 28.

"Of course, that's always the plan when you have one as nice as Vaudeville,"

Fierce said. "That's still quite a ways off, though."

Assuming he would acquit himself well in the Turf Handicap, and emerged from the race in

good health, Vaudeville's immediate future could include a trip to Atlantic City for the $500,000-guaranteed Caesars International Handicap (Gr. I) on June 25, followed by a return to Hollywood Park for the $250,000-added Caesars Palace Turf Championship (Gr. II) on July 22. A sweep of those races is worth a bonus of $312,500.

"That's what we're looking at," Fierce said. "But let's get through this race (the Turf

Handicap) first."

PASEANA BUCKS THE ODDS IN RACE TOWARDS MONEY TITLE

Those who decide the mutuel odds had less faith than usual that Paseana would

win Sunday's $108,300 Hawthorne Handicap at Hollywood Park.

"Even the fans sort of gave up on her," said her Hall of Fame trainer, Ron

McAnally, after Paseana won the Grade II race by two lengths and paid $6.20 as the second choice.

"She was 5-1 on the tote board at one time," McAnally added. "But if you examine

all three of her previous races this year, there were reasons for her defeats. As I explained during the week, the first time out at Santa Anita, she was short.

"The second time, she didn't benefit from the first race, so she was short again. At

Oaklawn Park, she was spinning her wheels, but I thought today (Sunday) would be the day we'd find out if she still had it, because she was on a track that she does like (the two-time Eclipse Award winner now has five wins and a second in six career starts at Hollywood Park). So I feel vindicated.

"I told (owner) Sid (Craig), ‘When was the last time you saw her at 5-1, or even 3-1?'"

For the record, Paseana was 5-2 in the Breeders' Cup Distaff on Nov. 6, 1993.

She was beaten a nose in that race by Hollywood Wildcat.

But don't expect to get that price again any time soon.

Paseana earned $63,300 for her 19th victory in 34 career starts and now

needs $130,133 to surpass Dance Smartly's total of $3,263,836 to become the all-time leading female North American money winner.

Paseana's earnings are $3,133,703. She could gain the record with a victory in

the $300,000 Vanity Handicap on July 23.

STEIN SCORES FIRST TRIPLE AT HOLLYWOOD PARK

Roger Stein has had many multiple-win days and nights as a standardbred trainer, but at

Hollywood Park Sunday, the 41-year-old Detroit native won three races in one day for only the second time as a trainer of Thoroughbreds.

"I won three in one day at Bay Meadows the day Robinski won the Bay Meadows

Handicap (Dec. 15, 1990)," Stein said. "I won six races once when I trained standardbreds, and I probably won five in one day about 30 times. But what makes this special is I only sent out three horses, and won with all of them. I'm tickled."

Stein's winners were Foreign Loan, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, in the second

race; Can't Decipher, Corey Nakatani up, in the fifth, and Tavern Maid, Desormeaux, in the sixth.

FINISH LINES: Strodes Creek, sidelined since pulling a muscle in his hind quarters while

finishing fourth in the Strub Stakes Feb. 5, returned to the work tab Sunday, drilling three furlongs in :38 1/5 under the watchful eye of Charlie Whittingham . . . Other works included Petionville going five furlongs in 1:00 1/5 in preparation for the $300,000-guaranteed Ohio Derby (Gr. II) at Thistledown on June 17 . . . Congratulations to trainer Ron McAnally, now tied with the late Laz Barrera for second place on Hollywood Park's all-time list with 68 stakes victories. Whittingham is first with 222 . . . Chris McCarron, meanwhile, is up to 198 Hollywood Park stakes wins. Bill Shoemaker is the all-time leader with 280 followed by Laffit Pincay Jr. with 250 . . . Jockey Felipe Martinez, still bothered by a sore leg resulting from an April 28 spill, said he hopes to resume riding next week . . . Sunday's program included a Pick Six carryover of $118,623.85 . . . Jockey Paul Atkinson will be absent Thursday to attend the high school graduation of his 18-year-old brother, Shane. "I attended my brother, Tory's, two years ago, so I can't play favorites," said Atkinson, who graduated high school in 1988. All three Atkinsons graduated from Bingham High School in Salt Lake City, Utah . . . Northern California-based trainer Greg Gilchrist is pointing Yerba Buena Handicap winner Work The Crowd to the $300,000-added Beverly Hills Handicap. The Grade I event for fillies and mares will be run at nine furlongs on Hollywood Park's turf course on July 2 . . . Derek Meredith reports 1993 Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Cardmania is on course for the $100,000-added Triple Bend Handicap (Gr. III) on June 24.

Trainer Ron Ellis said Hawthorne Handicap runner-up Pirate's Revenge came out of the race

in good shape. "She just didn't quite relax enough," Ellis said. "She just wanted to break and go, and there was lots of speed in the race. But I'm proud of her." Ellis added the Grade I Vanity Handicap on July 23 is being considered for Martin and Pam Wygod's filly. "Even if she's Grade I-placed, it would be good for her record," Ellis said . . . Eduardo Inda, assistant to McAnally, said Paseana came out of her winning effort in the Hawthorne Handicap in good order. McAnally was in New York Monday to saddle Cleante in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park . . . D. Wayne Lukas supervised workouts for Thunder Gulch, Timber Country and Serena's Song at Churchill Downs Monday morning. Kentucky Derby winner Thumder Gulch went a half-mile in :49 with Donna Barton up, while Preakness winner Timber Country went five furlongs in 1:00, also with Barton aboard. Both colts are prepping for the $500,000-added Belmont Stakes on June 10. Serena's Song, pointing to the $200,000-guaranteed Mother Goose Stakes on June 8, worked a half in :47 4/5 . . . Larry Rose, former trainer and jocks' agent, died Monday morning . . . Services for Harry (Bud) Brubaker, manager of operations at Del Mar who died at age 85 Friday, will be held Friday, 10 a.m., at St. John's Church (619 436-0664) on Encinitas Blvd. in Encinitas. Interment will follow at El Camino Memorial Park (619 458-6522) on Carrol Canyon Rd. in San Diego.