What do Lemon Grass, Hunk of Class, Canyon Run and Hickory Cat, the field in the featured $50,000 A.L. Oxford Handicap Saturday at Arlington, have in common with the great Secretariat?
A: Not much. B: A head, four legs and a tail. C: They all will run in a stakes race at Arlington carded with four horses. D: All of the above.
Many people would choose D, all of the above, and the circumstances for Saturday’s contest have left veteran local racing aficionados scratching their heads to remember the last four-horse race programmed at a Chicago area track.
The only definitive answer any could reach was Secretariat’s lone Chicago appearance, a cakewalk at Arlington June 30, 1973. In that case they couldn’t find more than three to race against him. On Saturday, it’s a case of so many sprints, so few Illinois-bred 3-year-old-and-up sprinters.
Many times races get only four entrants. Those are thrown back in the hopper to fill another day. Stakes are another matter, so the management at Arlington decided to go ahead with the four-horse field.
Only eight runners were nominated for the Oxford Handicap, and strangely enough, all will have run by the eighth race Saturday. Ballyneety Saint and Nice n’ Salty opted for the $25,000 Pete Condellone Stakes at Fairmount Park Tuesday, Royal Tramp ran fourth in a $50,000 claimer Friday, and Ambivilent Force is scheduled to run on the turf Saturday. Several other possible starters chose an Illinois-bred overnight handicap on Saturday’s card over the Oxford.
With the horse population declining, you can bet steps will be taken to prevent such an overlap in the future.
Not Gentlemen only? Gentlemen will risk his top national ranking against five foes in the $1 million Pacific Classic Saturday at Del Mar. Arlington International Racecourse will simulcast the Grade I event between the eighth and ninth races.
Trainer Richard Mandella has the best chance to beat his star with revenge-minded Siphon. The speedball stablemate, ranked third in the Daily Racing Form’s top 40, set the early fractions before running second, four lengths behind Gentlemen in the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup June 29. That was the last start for both runners. Siphon was favored over Gentlemen in the Gold Cup. The roles are expected to be reversed Saturday.
Regular rider Gary Stevens will be astride Gentlemen. Chris McCarron inherits the mount on Siphon from the injured David Flores.
Trainer suspended: Arlington stewards suspended owner/trainer Tim Muckler for 30 days for running a horse with prohibited substances in his system. The Illinois Racing Board lab discovered Isoxsuprine and Methocarbamol, both banned race-day substances, in the sample from A Muckity Muck, who ran second in the ninth race July 14. A Muckity Muck was stripped of his earnings from the race, which were redistributed. The suspension begins Monday and ends Sept. 9.
Star reporter: Longtime Tribune sportswriter Neil Milbert is one of five journalists nominated for the National Turf Writers Association’s Walter Haight Award. Named for the late racing columnist of the Washington Post, the award recognizes excellence in racing journalism.
Also nominated are Andy Beyer of the Washington Post, Steve Haskin of the Daily Racing Form, Bill Christine of the Los Angeles Times, and the late Jim Bolus. The winner will receive the award during Breeders’ Cup week in California.