Stable Notes Del Mar, California Sunday, August 10, 1997 (Day 17)

MANDELLA'S PAIR OF PACIFIC CLASSIC ACES COME OUT OF RACE FINE

"They look tired, but they look good," trainer Richard Mandella said of Gentlemen and Siphon this morning following their one-two finish in Saturday's Grade I, $1,000,000 Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

Gentlemen and Siphon looked especially good during the race as they hooked up at the three-eighths pole and battled the rest of the way, with Gentlemen pulling away in the final sixteenth of a mile to post a 2 3/4- length victory over his stablemate. The victory was made more impressive by the fact that jockey Gary Stevens, in a post-race interview, said he didn't believe Gentlemen was very comfortable and didn't seem interested in the action through the first half of the race.

But he got into it at the three-eighths pole, Stevens said. "In the matter of a sixteenth of mile, he had the race under control," the rider noted, "and it was over with. The way he'd been running early with me, and when I came up and hooked Siphon, I thought it was going to be a nail-biter to the finish. I'll tell you he wasn't at all himself today and still beat one of the best handicap horses in the country in Siphon."

On Gentlemen's demeanor, Stevens said, "He's a very temperamental horse. You don't want to get in a fight with him. There's a real fine line of cooperation with him. If you get in a battle with him, he weighs 1,200 pounds and I weigh 115; he's gonna win."

The final distribution of the participation bonus tied to the MGM Grand Classic Crown covering the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic goes this way: Gentlemen, 25 points, $250,000; Siphon, 24 points, $125,000; Sandpit, 12 points, $75,000; Marlin, 6 points, $50,000. Siphon won the first leg of the MGM trio and finished second in the other two, which were won by Gentlemen.

Crafty Friend, who finished third in the Classic, was reported in good condition this morning by trainer Wallace Dollase. The trainer praised him for his bravery and thought he ran a stout race against what could be the two best handicap horses in the country.

Trainers Bob Baffert, whose Lord Jain finished fourth, and Robert Hess, Jr., whose River Keen was the trailer in the five-horse field, said their horses were doing fine this morning. Hess was concerned that River Keen might have bled in the Pacific Classic, but the horse was tested and no bleeding showed up. "We're thinking now that it might have been a reaction to lasix," Hess said this morning. "The first time we treated him, we gave him just of splash of lasix and he bled, so we gave him a full dose this time. He was in distress after the race, but a couple of hours later he was better and he's fine this morning."

Jean-Pierre Dupuis said his trainee, Percutant, who dumped jockey Corey Nakatani and ran off following the Pacific Classic post parade and was scratched from the race, was unhurt in the incident. In fact, Dupuis took Percutant to the track Sunday morning "and he was perfect."

"Maybe it's a blessing," said the buoyant Frenchman. "Now we go to Chicago [for the Arlington Million August 24]. We didn't have any chance to win or finish second here. We have a chance to win at Chicago."

SEVEN DEL MAR DERBY PROSPECTS SET FOR TODAY'S LA JOLLA 'CAP

Led by Fantastic Fellow, winner of one division of the Oceanside Stakes on Del Mar's opening day, and Worldly Ways, who finished second in the Grade II American Derby at Arlington International Race Course July 20, a field of seven is slated to go postward today in the 57th La Jolla Handicap for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

If seven start in the Grade III prep for the Grade II, $300,000 Del Mar Derby, to be run on Labor Day, September 1, it will have a gross purse of $135,450, with $85,450 going to the winner. Deduct $750 for each scratch.

TRAINER JOHN SADLER PRAISES HIS WONDROUS SPRINTER TRACK GAL

What can one say when he has a filly sprinter in the barn that has won Del Mar's Rancho Bernardo Handicap three straight times? "Maybe they'll rename the race the Track Gal," an ebullient John Sadler said Saturday after Track Gal, his 6-year-old sprinting whiz, carried Gary Stevens to victory in the 26th running of the Grade III Rancho Bernardo Handicap.

The victory in the $109,125 race at 6 1/2 furlongs was Track Gal's 13th in 23 career starts and the winner's share of $69,125 put her bankroll at $610,828. The mare was bred by and races for William Oldknow and Robert W. Phipps.

"She was a great big filly, so she never raced at 2 and only had three starts at 3," Sadler said. "So when people see 6 [her age], they automatically assume she's an old mare. But she's not that old in the sense she's had a lot of races. She's only had 23 races. So that's one of the things that's so good about her, is that she's mature but yet she's not hard-used."

How is she to train? "As she's gotten older, she's gotten fussier. She's just kind of a fussy old mare. But when she runs, she runs hard. She loves this track. She's undefeated here [3 for 3, all in the Rancho Bernardo]. She came out in good shape, and we're just delighted with the win."

PAT VALENZUELA WINS A FUTURITY TRIAL AT NEW MEXICO RACETRACK

Jockey Patrick Valenzuela rode his first winner since returning from a nine-month suspension, but it didn't come at Del Mar. He booted General Gem home a winner Friday in a trial race for the upcoming $600,000 Indian National Futurity Cup at Santa Fe Downs, NM, August 24.

General Gem, trained by Del Mar conditioner Eric Kruljac, won the seven- furlong trial by seven lengths in 1:23 4/5, the fastest time posted in the three heats that will send horses into the Futurity. Finishing third in the General Gem heat was Real Quiet, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Scott Stevens, and finishing a close second in another heat was Grady, trained by Randy Bradshaw and ridden by Danny Sorenson.

Making the victory sweeter for Valenzuela was the fact that it came at the track where he won his first race. "It was great," Valenzuela said. "It was a good homecoming."

Of his mount, Valenzuela said, "He ran against some colts out here [two seconds at Hollywood Park, acccording to Kruljac]. He won pretty handily for me. But we'll find out more after the Futurity what kind of a colt he is. But it seems like he's got a promising future."

About himself, after the long layoff, Valenzuela had this to say: "I feel really good. I had two seconds yesterday [Goldenflag in the fourth race and Charley Mc in the 10th]. I feel strong. I feel everything's going good. I have to get lucky, that's all."

DEL MAR YEARLING SALE SET FOR MONDAY, TUESDAY AT HORSEPARK

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's annual Del Mar Yearling Sale will be held Monday and Tuesday at the Del Mar HorsePark, a short distance east of the racetrack.

Potential buyers will have a chance to pick from some outstanding sires, several of which stand in California. Among the more prominent sires represented by yearlings in the sale are Bertrando, who won the 1993 Pacific Classic, General Meeting, Avenue of Flags, In Excess, Flying Continental, Phone Trick and Capote.

The sale, which boasts such recent graduates as stakes winners Richter Scale and Red, will have a Select Session Monday at 7 p.m. and a Preferred Session Tuesday at 4 p.m.

SHORE LINES -- The handle on yesterday's Pacific Classic day at Del Mar was $17,493,308.90, which ranks as the second highest in the track's 60- year history. The top handle of $20,813,571 was posted on Pacific Classic day last year when Cigar was the featured runner and was upset by Dare And Go, trained by Richard Mandella. ... The busy Mandella barn has an intense interest in today's $300,000 Remington Park Derby in Oklahoma City, OK, where the 3-year-old Wild Rush, owned by Frank Stronach, is expected to be favored. ... Besides riding the winners of the Pacific Classic and the Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Saturday jockey Gary Stevens rode a third winner, and the triple added another $250 to the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club donates money to the fund for multiple victories, starting at three, by riders during the meet. ... Another "5-Star Monday" comes up this Monday where $5 and a coupon from any Carl's Jr. restaurant in the San Diego area gets a Del Mar patron admission, a reserved seat in the Grandstand, a program, a hot dog and a small soft drink or beer.

TODAY'S SIMULCAST STAKES - Delaware Park: Sweet & Sassy Handicap; Sarataoga: Balston Spa Breeders' Cup Handicap (III); Remington Park: Remington Park Derby; Arlington International Race Course: Arlington Heights Oaks (III); Ellis Park: Ellis Park Juvenile; Penn National: Pennsylvania Governor's Cup Handicap.