HOLLYWOOD PARK STABLE NOTES

Thursday, July 18, 1996

By Mark Midland

$1.7-MILLION SUPER SUNDAY LINEUP

• $700,000 Caesars Palace Turf Championship (Gr. II) for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/2 miles on turf
• $500,000 Swaps Stakes (Gr. II) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles
• $250,000 Vanity Handicap (Gr. I) for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles
• $100,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship (Gr. II) for 2-year-olds at six furlongs
• $70,000 Khaled Stakes for California-bred 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on turf
• $70,000 Answer Do Stakes for California-bred 3-year-olds and up at 6 1/2 furlongs

SANDPIT GOES FOR $1 MILLION PAYDAY IN CAESARS PALACE TURF CHAMPIONSHIP
Sandpit heads an outstanding cast of turf runners entered for Sunday's $700,000 Caesars Palace Turf Championship (Gr. II) at Hollywood Park. For the second year in a row the Brazilian-bred can earn the Caesars Palace Las Vegas and Caesars World Atlantic City bonus for sweeping the $500,000 Caesars International and the Caesars Palace Turf Championship.

ESPN will nationally televise Sunday's $700,000 Caesars Palace Turf Championship from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. (PDT). The 1 1/2-mile turf endurance event will be run as the fourth live race, with an approximate post time of 1:40 p.m.

There will be a special noon post time on Super Sunday. There will be no early bird wagering, as gates open at 9:30 a.m.

Sandpit, a 7-year-old chestnut horse trained by Richard Mandella, galloped to a 1 3/4-length victory in the Caesars International at Atlantic City Race Course on June 22, and is listed as the 7-5 favorite in the 1 1/2-mile Caesars Palace Turf Championship, headliner on Hollywood Park's $1.7-million Super Sunday card.

The coast-to-coast sweep of the two races is good for a $280,000 bonus and a total paycheck of $1 million. Last year, Sandpit earned $750,000 for sweeping the same series.

Post positions from the rail out for the Caesars Palace Turf Championship, to be run Sunday, July 21 at 1 1/2 miles on the turf: Lassigny, Jerry Bailey, 116, 6-1; Awad, Chris McCarron, 117, 5-1; Talloires, Kent Desormeaux, 116, 20-1; Windsharp, Eddie Delahoussaye, 116, 3-1; Special Price, Rene Douglas, 116, 6-1; Time Star, Corey Black, 115, 8-1, and Sandpit, Corey Nakatani, 125, 7-5.

Excerpts from the post position draw breakfast:

$700,000 Caesars Palace Turf Championship (Gr. II)

• TRAINER RICHARD MANDELLA ON SANDPIT: "He's doing very well and he's back to as good of form as he's ever been -- maybe even better. . .He came from Brazil a very good looking horse and big healthy thing. He started out doing well and has continued to do well. Not much has changed since I first got him, with the exception that he gets a little more spoiled each year."
  
• JOCKEY COREY NAKATANI ON SANDPIT: "I know that last year Sandpit was definitely the best turf horse in the country and the most consistent. It was unfortunate that he didn't win the Eclipse Award last year, but hopefully this year he can. He's doing extremely well this year. Richard (Mandella) has been putting him in the same races he did last year and the ultimate goal is the (Aug. 25) Arlington Million. I think that Sandpit is getting better with age."
• JOCKEY COREY NAKATANI ON SANDPIT'S WIN IN THE JUNE 22 CAESARS INTERNATIONAL: "I was surprised (at his sudden burst of speed) because they were going so slow. He was relaxing extremely well that day. When I asked him, he just put his nose right through there and did the running. Last year, it was a little different scenario because the track was real heavy and deep -- he didn't like it as much as he did this year where it was nicer going. As I said before, I think he's getting a lot better with age."
  
• TRAINER RICHARD MANDELLA ON TALLORIES: "Talloires is a very good horse that's had either bad luck or he's a pain in the neck -- one or the other. He always runs up like he's going to win something and then he hangs and gets beat noses and stuff. I was thinking about it, and all the races he should have won and didn't, with Sandpit in here this is the one he's not supposed to win, so he'll probably get up and win it. So, I better give him his chance."
• TRAINER WALLY DOLLASE ON WINDSHARP: "She had a flu bug for around five days, so I had to back off on her. She would have been a little short for (the July 7 Beverly Hills Handicap). She's also a pure mile-and-a-halfer -- anything from a mile-and-a-quarter and up, she's effective. I feel (the Caesars Palace Turf Championship) will be an easier race on her. I'm not saying we're going to win it, but overall, it will be an easier race coming off a rest. With this filly, there's no end to her stamina."

$250,000 Vanity Handicap (Gr. I)

• OWNER BOB LEWIS ON SERENA'S SONG: "We're delighted to be here at Hollywood Park for the Vanity. We have looked forward to this for some time, so there's no reason to make any changes. I just feel with Jewel Princess, Twice The Vice, Borodislew and the rest of this field, it's going to be a very exciting race -- I think the public will be ones that are going to be the winners. This is going to be a great test of horses and it's going to be a great show."
  
• OWNER BOB LEWIS ON OWNING A FILLY LIKE SERENA'S SONG: "I make no bones about it, we're really naive in this business -- we're in your business and we don't profess to know the first thing about it. It just tells everybody out there and the American public -- in my opinion -- that if you want to get into this game and if you want to play in this business, just look what can happen to you because it's happened to Beverly and Bob Lewis. To have been so fortunate to come up with this incredible animal and to have her go into the starting gate on Sunday for the 32nd time. . .she's given us three really marvelous years up to this point. I think she's proved her abilities. I can't begin to tell you. . .every morning that passes, I kind of pinch myself and say, 'Is it really true? Do we have the ownership of this magnificent filly?'"
  
• TRAINER RON ELLIS ON TWICE THE VICE: "We had considered the (Aug. 3) Ramona at Del Mar, because it seemed like it was our last chance to run her on the grass this year. I think she's equally as good or better on the grass and I really wanted to try her there because it's a good chance this is her last year of racing. Timing-wise, it came up a little better. We'll probably run next in the (Oct. 6) Beldame (at Belmont) or the (Oct. 6) Spinster (at Keeneland), and the timing would have worked out a little better. But I talked with (owner) Marty (Wygod) in Kentucky, and he just decided it was an honor to have a chance to run against Serena's Song -- we wanted to take that challenge."
  
• MORE ELLIS ON TWICE THE VICE: "She's doing great. We put a plan together for her to get gradually better as the year goes on. We've been fortunate that it's worked out that way. I don't see any reason for that trend not to continue. She's getting a little better with each race, gets more confidence and a little bit stronger. I think she'll run one of her best races that you've seen this year -- hopefully that will be good enough."
  
• WALLY DOLLASE ON JEWEL PRINCESS: "She's coming up to this race as well as the last race. Of course last out, she ran a super race. We need the weight in order to be right there with Serena's Song. We've got five pounds this time and we had five pounds in Kentucky when we were lucky enough to win by a head. (Jewel Princess) should be there. The mare is in great condition, this is her home base and she loves it here -- you can always count on her running first, second or third. She's just one of those really solid fillies. We do need that five pounds, though, and we've got it this time and I think we'll be right there."
  
• JOCKEY COREY NAKATANI ON WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO BEAT SERENA'S SONG WITH JEWEL PRINCESS: "Serena's Song is the best filly I ever rode. She's always tough and always puts her body down when you ask her to go. It'll be fun this weekend trying to beat her, and hopefully Jewel Princess can give me the chance."

TWICE THE VICE VS. SERENA'S SONG, ROUND THREE
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas ships in 3-year-old champion filly Serena's Song for Sunday's $250,000 Vanity Handicap (Gr. I), and wants to remind all who is the champion and the challenger.

"Twice The Vice is taking on Serena's Song, not the other way around," Lukas pointed out. "One horse is a champion, the other is not. If that's not the case, then we should be the one getting the weight."

Serena's Song has split two decisions with Twice The Vice, but lost to Jewel Princess in their only meeting in the May 3 Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap (Gr. II).

"This is a very, very, tough race," he said. "We have the utmost respect for Jewel Princess. We have respect for the entire field."

The Vanity will likely be the final meeting of Serena's Song and Twice The Vice before the Oct. 28 Breeders' Cup.

"It's like in the NBA Championship with a best-of-seven, and this is the first game," Lukas said. "The first game is important, but it doesn't assure you anything."

Serena's Song has banked $2,758,348 in her 31 race career, and currently ranks as the seventh all-time money winning female. A victory on Sunday would place her fifth on the all-time list, right behind Paseana and just ahead of Bayakoa.

"Everytime Serena's Song has met Twice The Vice, she's given away considerable weight," Lukas said. "This is the first time the weights bring us closer together."

Serena's Song spotted Twice The Vice six pounds (124-118) when she defeated her rival in the Mar. 10 Santa Maria Handicap (Gr. I), and gave away seven pounds (124-117) when Twice The Vice turned the tables on her in the Apr. 12 Apple Blossom (Gr. I). The Lukas filly will concede three pounds (125-122) to Twice The Vice on Sunday.

"Serena's Song didn't handle the mud when Twice The Vice beat her in the Apple Blossom," Lukas explained. "All of her bad races have come over off tracks."

BORODISLEW LOOKS TO REBOUND IN VANITY
Borodislew reeled off four consecutive stakes victories last summer, but has yet to regain her top form of 1995. She had a two-race win streak snapped with a fifth-place finish in the Milady, and will look to return to the winner's circle when she squares off against Serena's Song, Twice The Vice and Jewel Princess in Sunday's $250,000 Vanity Handicap.

"Last time she had a real tough time down on the inside," trainer John Shirreffs said. "Eddie got stuck down there and couldn't get out. She got real rank when he tried to get a hold of her."

Delahoussaye will be aboard the 6-year-old Seattle Slew mare who drew post position two for Sunday's contest.

"We've stood her in the gate a lot since the Milady," Shirreffs said. "She broke real fast (in the Milady), and once she gets the jump on the rider, it's pretty tough to get a hold of her. So we've been walking her out of the gate to get her to slow down."

Shirreffs has a plan for Delahoussaye to get the perfect trip this time.

"Hopefully, we can follow Twice The Vice all the way around," he said. "She'll get us pretty close to the wire at some point."

Post positions from the rail out for the 55th running of the Vanity Handicap, to be run Sunday, July 21 at 1 1/8 miles: Airistar, Brice Blanc, 109, 30-1; Borodislew, Eddie Delahoussaye, 117, 10-1; Jewel Princess, Corey Nakatani, 120, 5-2; Top Rung, David Flores, 115, 10-1; Real Connection, Goncalino Almeida, 112, 30-1; Twice The Vice, Chris McCarron, 122, 9-5, and Serena's Song, Jerry Bailey, 125, 8-5.

LUKAS SHIPPERS READY TO ROLL IN $500,000 SWAPS
Trainer D. Wayne Lukas holds a strong hand in Sunday's $500,000 Swaps, with 8-5 morning line favorite Victory Speech, and 2-1 second choice Prince Of Thieves.

Prince Of Thieves finished third in the Kentucky Derby, but was given a rest after a seventh-place finish in the Preakness (Gr. I) and fifth in the Belmont Stakes (Gr. I).

"After they go through the Triple Crown, you need to give them a break," Lukas said. "Prince of Thieves will be the first one we bring back. So we gave him a rest by design."

Victory Speech ran evenly in the classics, finishing tenth in the Kentucky Derby and fifth in the Preakness. He has since rebounded with a strong second to Skip Away in the Ohio Derby (Gr. II) and a 5 1/2-length victory in the Dwyer (Gr. II) on July 6.

"Victory Speech probably needed the experience he gained in the Triple Crown," Lukas said. "But now he's doing very well and we thought he fit this spot very well."

Post positions from the rail out for the 23rd running of the Swaps (Gr. II), to be run Sunday, July 21 at 1 1/8 miles: Semoran, Chris McCarron, 120, 5-1; Slews Royal Son, Brice Blanc, 114, 10-1; Victory Speech, Jerry Bailey, 118, 8-5; Prince Of Thieves, Alex Solis, 118, 2-1, and Hesabull, Eddie Delahoussaye, 118, 5-2.

PRARIE JUNCTION INVADES FOR HOLLYWOOD JUVENILE CHAMPIONSHIP
With a perfect three-for-three record, Swiss Yodeler has dominated his competition at Hollywood Park, leaving little mystery to his ranking on the West Coast. The main question in Sunday's $100,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship (Gr. II) will be how Swiss Yodeler matches up against Kentucky shipper Prairie Junction.

The Mt. Livermore colt enters off a pair of seconds for trainer D. Wayne Lukas in the May 27 Kentucky Breeders' Cup and the June 29 Bashford Manor (Gr. III).

"He had a little bit of trouble in his last, but was good enough to run second," Lukas said. "We're sending his stablemate that beat him, Boston Harbor, up to the Sanford (Gr. III) at Saratoga, so we thought this would be a good spot for him."

Prairie Junction will break from post position six under Jerry Bailey in Sunday's contest.

"Whether he will match up against the horses out here, it's hard to measure," Lukas said. "But he has a good closing kick to him."

In other developments:

Smokin Mel worked three furlongs in :35 4/5 Thursday morning.

Post positions from the rail out for the 57th running of the Hollywood Juvenile Championship, to be run Sunday, July 21 at six furlongs: Vermilion, Laffit Pincay Jr., 115, 8-1; Smokin Mel, Omar Berrio, 117, 20-1; Swiss Yodeler, Alex Solis, 120, 1-1; Over Houston, David Flores, 117, 10-1; Red, Rene Douglas, 117, 10-1, and Prairie Junction, Jerry Bailey, 117, 7-5.

FREE ADMISSION, FORD MUSTANG GIVEAWAY ON CLOSING DAY AT HOLLYPARK
Fans attending Hollywood Park on Closing Day -- Monday, July 22 -- will receive free general admission and a chance to win a 1996 Ford Mustang GT.

Other prize giveaways on Fan Appreciation Day include Toshiba color TVs and VCRs, weekend getaways to Las Vegas, Dodger baseball tickets, a mountain bike, Hollywood clubhouse credentials for future meetings and much more.

The closing day feature is the $65,000-added Exbourne for older horses at a mile on turf. First post is 1 p.m.

TWO SIMULCASTS TO HOLLYWOOD PARK SATURDAY
Saturday Hollywood Park will feature two simulcasts, the $150,000 River Downs Breeders' Cup set for 1:24 p.m. and the $300,000 DeFrancis Dash from Laurel, set for 2:36 p.m.

Local runner Score Quick, trained by Mel Stute and second in the June 30 Triple Bend Handicap (Gr. III), goes to post in the DeFrancis Dash. Rene Douglas is scheduled to ride.

FINISH LINES: Jockey Goncalino Almeida rode Quite Good (7th, $21.60) to victory Wednesday for his first win since Jan. 18. Almeida, who broke both legs in a spill on Jan. 20, returned to the races June 13 . . . Lit De Justice worked six furlongs in 1:12 1/5 over the turf in preparation for the Bing Crosby (Gr. III) . . . Sleep Easy drilled seven furlongs in 1:25 4/5 . . . South American import Riton worked a mile over the turf in 1:38 2/5 Thursday morning, but will not make the July 22 Exbourne Handicap. Assistant trainer Gary Mandella said he grabbed a quarter and will be set back about a week.

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