HEADLINE NEWS • 10/26/03 • PAGE 2 of 14
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PERFECTION IN THE MILE HEADLINE p7 NEWS For information about TDN, DELIVERED EACH NIGHT call 732-747-8060. BY FAX AND INTERNET www.thoroughbreddailynews.com SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2003 HE’S THE MAN A PERFECT ENDING Trainer Richard Mandella made World Thoroughbred Pleasantly Perfect (Plesant Colony) capped an incredi- Championship history at Santa Anita yesterday with a ble day for trainer Richard Mandella with a rallying remarkable four Breeders’ Cup winners. It wasn’t the victory in the $4 million GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. The first time Mandella took four five-year-old becomes the fifth winner to use the GII races on Breeders’ Cup Day; a Goodwood Breeders’ Cup H. as decade ago, also at Santa Anita, a stepping stone to Classic he saddled Kotashaan (Fr) to glory. He won the Goodwood victory in the Turf and Phone by an eyecatching 3 1/4 Chatter to win the Juvenile Fil- lengths last year, but bled in lies, and added two more suc- the race and was prevented cesses on the undercard. He did from competing on Breeders’ all of his winning in the main Cup Day because of Illinois events yesterday, and three of bleeder regulations. “I never Mandella greets Pleasantly Pleasantly Perfect Horsephotos the four scored at double-digit had frustration over the rule in Perfect after the Classic Horsephotos odds. “I don’t know how to de- Chicago,” Mandella said. “Rules are rules, and I don’t scribe it,” Mandella said. “The have any problem with them. But, again I’ll say that day I won four here last time, if I had known I was rules should be uniform from state to state so that going to do it, I could have really enjoyed it, but I was people don’t get mixed up or do the wrong thing when in shock all day and by the time I came out of the they travel. Nowadays, travel is a big part of racing.” shock, everybody had gone home. And I am still in But the Hall of Fame horseman was in his own back- shock here. I didn’t believe this could happen again, but yard yesterday, and made the most of the homecourt it happened bigger and better.” His first starter, advantage. Classic cont. p2 Halfbridled (Unbridled) was no surprise, capturing the Saturday, Santa Anita Juvenile Fillies as the 2-1 chalk. But Action This Day BREEDERS' CUP CLASSIC-GI, $4,000,000, SAX, (Kris S.) posted the 26-1 shocker in the Juvenile and 10-25, 3yo/up, 1 1/4m, 1:59 4/5, ft. Johar (Gone West) was 14-1 as he dead-heated with 1--sPLEASANTLY PERFECT, 126, h, 5, by Pleasant Colony repeat winner High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) in the 1st Dam: Regal State (G1SW-Fr, $102,762), by Affirmed Turf. Then Pleasantly Perfect (Plesant Colony) came 2nd Dam: La Trinite (Fr), by Lyphard from near the back of the pack to put the final feather 3rd Dam: Promessa (Ire), by *Darius II in Mandella’s cap, also at 14-1. Did one of the wins top ($725,000 yrl '99 KEESEP). O-Diamond A Racing them all? “I don’t know how to answer that,” Mandella Corporation; B-Clovelly Farms (KY); T-Richard said. “They are all great horses.” Mandella; J-A Solis; $2,080,000. Lifetime Record: 13-6-2-1, $2,949,880. *1/2 to Hurricane State TOO CLOSE TO CALL (Miswaki), GSW-Fr. For the first time in history, 2--Medaglia D'Oro, 126, c, 4, El Prado (Ire)--Cappucino the photo-finish camera could Bay, by Bailjumper. O-Edmund A Gann; B-Albert & not separate the first two finish- Joyce Bell (KY); T-R Frankel; J-J Bailey; $800,000. ers in a Breeders’ Cup race. It 3--Dynever, 121, c, 3, Dynaformer--Flamboyance, by appeared that 2002 Turf winner Zilzal. O-Catherine Wills & Peter Karches; B-Catherine High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler’s Wills (KY); T-C Clement; J-C Nakatani; $440,000. Dead-heat in the Turf Wells) had defended his title, but Margins: 1HF, 3/4, NK. Odds: 14.20, 2.60, 15.20. Johar (Gone West) came on in Also Ran: Congaree, Hold That Tiger, Perfect Drift, the final jump to hit the wire in a dead heat. Turf cont. p3 Evening Attire, Ten Most Wanted, Funny Cide, Volponi. TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 10/26/03 • PAGE 2 of 14 Goodwood as Gold Perfect Pedigree Pleasantly Perfect had started just three times since Pleasantly Perfect became the second Breeders’ Cup his 2002 Goodwood victory, running third behind champion, following 1991 Juvenile Fillies victress Congaree (Arazi) in the Feb. 2 GII San Antonio H. and Pleasant Stage, for the now deceased Pleasant Colony. fourth to Milwaukee Brew in At $725,000, Pleasantly Perfect was the highest-priced the Mar. 1 GI Santa Anita H. yearling for his sire in 1999. That price reflected not Sidelined by a series of minor only his physique–imposing–but also his pedigree. He is problems, including a foot in- a son of the G1 Prix Morny heroine Regal State (Af- jury in the spring, he was sent firmed), whose half sister Seven Springs (Irish River off the 7-5 choice in this {Fr}) also captured that event and was the co- year’s Goodwood and closed highweight two-year-old filly in France that year. Seven from the back of the pack for Springs went on to produce Distant View (Mr. Prospec- the score. An outsider in the tor), England’s top three-year-old miler of 1994 and Pleasantly Perfect Horsephotos Classic, he was eased off the now a successful sire. pace as Congaree and the 5-2 choice Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado {Ire}) dueled through a A Less Than Perfect Trip half in :46.35 and a mile in 1:34.32. He closed ground Both Ten Most Wanted (Deputy Commander), who to be fifth at the quarter pole, moved into third at the got the worst of it, and Perfect Drift (Dynaformer) were top of the stretch and kept coming in the final furlong impeded when Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide to catch Medaglia d’Oro and edge clear. “This win was (Distorted Humor) drifted out sharply going into the first particularly gratifying because we did get set back last turn. Ten Most Wanted was carried very wide around year,” Richard Mandella said. “And you all heard about the bend and never got into the hunt, finishing eighth. the virus he had that affected his heart sac and en- “We were moving nicely, but Funny Cide came out on larged his heart when he was a two-year-old. So we Perfect Drift, pushing him out, and we had to snag up had to wait a year to train him. But once he got healthy on his heels,” jockey Pat Day said. “I tried to over-cor- enough to train, we thought we had a good horse. He rect him, but he is a big, long-striding horse and not proved he was good, little by little.” Click for the real light on his feet. He can’t do that and get back into brisnet.com chart or the free brisnet.com catalogue- it.” Added Gary Stevens, who was aboard Perfect Drift, style pedigree. “Going into the first turn, Funny Cide came up inside of me and he was real rank. He just kept knocking me out. A Double for Solis I was six wide and finally I just eased back. He’s a hell Jockey Alex Solis, who had a record of one-for-40 in of a horse to put up with what he did and still run on.” Breeders’ Cup competition going into yesterday’s races, The gelding moved into fourth after a mile, but faded upped his percentage significantly with wins in the late to be sixth. As for Funny Cide, he sat just off the Classic and the Turf. He was also second in the Juve- pace for seven-eighths, but tired in the drive and beat nile with Minister Eric. “Right now I still don’t believe only 2002 Classic winner Volponi (Cryptoclearance) the day I’ve had,” Solis said. “All my horses ran incredi- home. “This horse doesn’t like hot weather,” trainer ble. In the past I’ve had some tough luck, but I always Barclay Tagg said. “We knew that, but we took our believed that God was saving the punch line for me.” shot. It was a lot to ask for him to face older horses in As for his Classic champion, he said, “Down the this spot after the long layoff.” Jockey Jose Santos, on stretch, I knew he was coming on strong. He gave me Volponi, said, “He came back a little short in his [left] a big kick, like he always does.” front foot, but I think he’ll be OK.” NOVEMBER NUMBERS THREE GRADE 1 WINNERS are from Lane's End Keeneland November consignments S more than any other consignor! BOX 626, VERSAILLES, KY 40383 Click here to see the Lane's End November consignment (859) 873-7300 FAX (859) 873-3742 E-MAIL: [email protected] or visit lanesend.com/sales/2003/keenov03_bm.html. WEB SITE: lanesend.com TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 10/26/03 • PAGE 3 of 14 SHARING THE SPOILS Saturday, Santa Anita It took 20 years and a total of 144 individual Breed- JOHN DEERE BREEDERS' CUP TURF-GI, $2,110,100, ers’ Cup races, but yesterday’s John Deere Turf pro- SAX, 10-25, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:24 1/5, fm.