GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINE FOR THE BREEDERS' CUP

Gentlemen is the best handicap horse in training, and after winning the Pacific Classic, is getting only better. If he's got one chink in his chestnut-colored, Argentine-bred armor, it's resiliency. He's a happy-go-lucky sort, but he doesn't like his races too close together.

That presents a quandary for trainer Richard Mandella: where to run Gentlemen next before the $4-million Breeders' Cup Classic at Hollywood Park on Nov. 8.

"I was considering the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont," the 46-year-old trainer said after Gentlemen defeated stablemate Siphon by 2 3/4 lengths in the Pacific Classic, Mandella's fifth straight win in a

$1-million race in California. "The Jockey Club Gold Cup is $1-million guaranteed, but it's Oct.18, and that would be too close to the Breeders' Cup, plus we'd have to ship coast-to-coast." The Sept. 20 Woodward at Belmont would seem ideal, timing-wise, but it's still coast-to-coast.

"Gentlemen needs some time between races, but three months is more than I need. Still, I don't want to run in a race that's too close. If we're going to have to pay $800,000 to run, we want to make sure we have the tank full. I'd be more inclined to run Siphon in the Jockey Club."

Neither Gentlemen nor Siphon is eligible for the Breeders' Cup, but Hollywood Park president R.D. Hubbard, controlling owner of Gentlemen, says the horse will be supplemented for $800,000.

"Hubbard wants to go," said Mandella, who leads all trainers in money won this year with more than $7 million. "You know him. He's a player."

Gentlemen has won 12 of 16 starts with earnings of more than $2.7 million, including a $250,000 bonus for the best overall record in the MGM Grand Classic Crown, comprised of the Santa Anita Handicap, the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Pacific Classic. With Skip Away not eligible to the Breeders' Cup, and Siphon pointing elsewhere, Gentlemen's stiffest opposition should come from the scintillating 3-year-old, Touch Gold.

But Mandella was quick to compliment the vanquished in the Pacific Classic. "River Keen and Crafty Friend had pretty strong races going in to the race," Mandella pointed out. "Crafty Friend just ran a mile-and-a-sixteenth in 1:40 flat. I don't remember many horses doing that around here."

And is Touch Gold as good, as, say, Siphon, or other top older horses? "You just don't know until you face him," Mandella said. "Touch Gold is a very good horse, but I'm pretty high on my own. I wouldn't think Touch Gold would be tougher than a Skip Away, or someone like that."

Dave Hofmans, trainer of Touch Gold and a less-heralded 3-year-old, Awesome Again, says both colts are pointing to the Aug. 23 Travers at Saratoga. "If it rains, we'll definitely run Awesome Again, but not Touch Gold. If it's fast, we'll either run one or both," Hofmans said.

"Touch Gold is a very good horse, and he's going to develop into an even better horse. I don't know where he ranks right now, until he runs against older horses, like Gentlemen. But as far as the 3-year-old crown is concerned, with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Silver Charm sidelined, Hofmans feels the 3-year-old title is Touch Gold's to lose.

"If he wins one more race, I think he probably would be the top 3-year-old, so let's hope we can win another one. I haven't seen a horse with his turn of foot for a long, long time. Awesome Again is probably as good as Touch Gold, but he needs to develop a little bit more."

THE HOMESTRETCH: No one has ever questioned Corey Nakatani's ability to control a 1,200-pound thoroughbred. But controlling his emotions is another story. Nakatani, 26, was suspended 30 days (Aug. 11 though Sept. 10) for pushing Ryan Barber off his horse following the seventh race on Aug. 3. The 20-year-old Barber, who hasn't ridden since, has filed misdemeanor battery charges against Nakatani. Steward Dave Samuel, an official for 20 years, says the ban is the stiffest non-substance abuse penalty in his memory. "There have been drug-related suspensions that have been longer," Samuel said, "but this is the longest for a race-related incident, in my experience. His past indiscretions were factored in our decision. He had displayed similar temper problems." Two years ago, a horse Nakatani hit with a whip after a race suffered a broken leg and died. In April at Santa Anita, Nakatani was fined $750 for head-butting Julio Garcia after a stakes race. The intensely competitive Nakatani has been beset by a rash of personal tragedies. His father died of a heart attack in April; his sister was murdered last year, and his nephew died of leukemia in 1995. Nakatani has been directed by the stewards "to seek counseling to address the issues of impulsive behavior and anger management and the stewards must receive verification of that participation prior to his resuming competitive riding." Nakatani is prohibited from exercising horses until Sept. 1 and will be on probation for one year. "I would say he is absolutely committed to resolving his problem," Samuel said. "He admitted to us that he has a problem, and he has already taken steps to correct it. He's a great rider. There's no question about it. I feel when he gets this behind him, he'll be an even better rider." . . . Santa Anita, which offered inter-track wagering on Fairplex Park for the first time last year, will not be open for this year's Pomona session, which runs from Sept. 11 through Sept. 28. Santa Anita cites work "on the largest renovation and improvement project in Santa Anita history." Said Santa Anita president Cliff Goodrich of the enhancements, which will cost in excess of $10 million: "Virtually all of Santa Anita's public and backside areas are being refurbished, renovated or improved. While we have been working on the project since May, the final stages cannot be completed with patrons in the facilities. We're sorry for any short-term inconvenience we are causing, but know that our patrons will appreciate the long-term benefits of the new improvements." All that may be true, but word from Fairplex, just 20 miles east of Santa Anita on the 210 Freeway, closest thing to an autobahn in Southern California, is that the Arcadia track took a $400,000 hit during its inter-track gig last year. Bay Meadows and Los Alamitos also will be affected by the closure.