THE EARL KEEPS ON BARKING
Superstars come and go. Here one race, gone the next, their careers cut short by
injuries and retirements.
Then there's Earl Of Barking. He isn't the most consistent thoroughbred around . . . but at least he's always around. And every once in a while, he bites. Like in last May's $500,000 Hollywood Turf Handicap, when he emerged from the pack to upset Sandpit at 24-1.
"He isn't the best horse," said Richard Cross, who has trained Earl Of Barking since 1992. "But he's made a lot of money, and he's won group races at 2, 3, 4 and 5 years of age. So, over a period of time, he's been a pretty good one."
Good enough to have won nine of 30 starts and $1,097,705 for owner Henry Pabst of Rancho Santa Fe. And good enough to be one of the favorites in Sunday's $500,000 Hollywood Turf Cup.
That in itself will be unusual. Earl Of Barking has rarely been man's best friend at the betting windows. In fact, it's been over two years since he was favored in a race, and over three years since he won as the favorite.
In Sunday's 14-horse Turf Cup, which appears to be a wide-open affair, many handicappers might find Earl Of Barking hard to resist. Especially since the race is on the Hollywood Park turf course, a course where his record is 10 starts, four wins, one second, four thirds and $700,705 in purses.
"I think it's more of a case of him not liking turf that's deep and soft," Cross said. "He likes turf that's smooth and fast, and that's how it always seems to be for his races at Hollywood Park."
Earl Of Barking, a 5-year-old Irish-bred by Common Grounds, can be a tricky horse to ride. The bay is most effective when he drafts behind horses and uses one quick burst in the stretch. At a distance of a mile-and-a-half, like Sunday's Turf Cup, that can be a tough assignment for a jockey, who must wait and wait and wait before asking the horse to go.
"He likes to pull a bit hard early," Cross said of Earl Of Barking. "(Goncalino) Almeida seems to fit him nicely, though. He gets along with the horse and knows when to make the move."
BIG FIELD ENTERED IN SUNDAY'S $500,000 HOLLYWOOD TURF CUP
A full-field of 14 was entered Friday morning for Sunday's $500,000 Hollywood
Turf Cup. The race nearly over-filled -- a situation that would have relegated 1994
Breeders' Cup Turf winner Tikkanen to the sidelines -- but trainer Neil Drysdale decided
at the last minute not to enter Patio De Naranjos.
As it is, the Turf Cup field includes the Rodney Rash-trained entry of Celtic Arms and Rifapour, and a mutuel field consisting of Shrewd Idea and Suave Tern,
The Hollywood Turf Cup goes as the seventh race, with popst time at 3:37 p.m.
AFTERNOON DEELITES RECORDS FAST WORKOUT
Afternoon Deelites worked five furlongs in a sizzling :58 3/5 Friday morning, and
trainer Richard Mandella said the Private Terms colt is "possible" for the $150,000
Malibu Stakes (Gr. I) at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.
"He's making progress, but if he's not ready (for the Malibu), then we'll find something else for him," Mandella said. "He's beginning to act like he's ready, though."
Afternoon Deelites has won five of seven starts and $668,125. He finished eighth in the 1995 Kentucky Derby, and emerged from the race with a slight tear in the tendon of his left foreleg.
HENNESSY RETURNS IN HOLLYWOOD FUTURITY
Bob and Beverly Lewis' Hennessy will attempt to snap a three-race losing streak
when he heads the field for the $500,000 Hollywood Futurity on Sunday, Dec. 17.
The Futurity is the final Grade I race this year for 2-year-olds, and the mile-and-a-sixteenth event could push Hennessy near $1-million in earnings.
Hennessy has won four of eight races and $544,900, but he's winless in three starts since a victory in the Grade I Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 27. The $500,000 yearling has held his form extremely well, however. He ran a game race in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Oct. 28 , but came up a neck short to stablemate Unbridled's Song. He bounced back from that tough defeat with a determined effort in the $100,000 Hollywood Prevue Breeders' Cup Stakes (Gr. III) on Nov. 19, but was outfinished by Cobra King and again settled for second.
Overall, Hennessy has eight starts with four wins and three seconds. He's raced at Hollywood Park four times and has two wins, including a triumph in the Grade II Hollywood Juvenile Championship, and two seconds.
Hennessy is currently stabled at Santa Anita Park and worked six furlongs there in 1:13 Monday.
Early probables for the Hollywood Futurity: Odyle, no rider; Tropicool, no rider; Hennessy, Gary Stevens; Exetera, Eddie Delahoussaye; Ayrton S, Chris McCarron, and Matty G, no rider.
ADVANCING STAR TO FACE CARA RAFAELA IN STARLET
Advancing Star, who has yet to be tested in two career starts, and Cara Rafaela,
who has competed successfully with the best 2-year-old fillies in the nation, meet for the
first time in the $250,000 Hollywood Starlet on Saturday, Dec. 16.
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will saddle Cara Rafaela for owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, will attempt to win the Grade I Starlet for an unprecedented fourth time. He won last year with Serena's Song, in 1990 with Cuddles and in 1983 with Althea.
Early probables for the Hollywood Starlet: Cara Rafaela, Corey Nakatani; Chile Chatte, Alex Solis; Advancing Star, Gary Stevens; Antespend, Chris Antley, and Wheatly Special, Chris McCarron.
HOLLYWOOD PARK HOTEL IMPLOSION SET TO GO
The demolition of the Park Hotel by means of implosion has been changed to
8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10.
The implosion of the Park Hotel -- located on the Northwest corner of the Hollywood Park property -- had previously been scheduled for 10 a.m. The time change was mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The following training hours will be in effect on Sunday, Dec. 10 only:
5 a.m. to 7 a.m. -- track open for training.
7 a.m. to 9 a.m. -- track closed
9 a.m. to 10 a.m. -- track open for training.
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