Columnist Ralph Siraco: Silver Charm, Gentlemen clash in santa Anita ‘Cap

Ralph Siraco

Tuesday, March 3, 1998 | 10 a.m.

THE MONTH of March has arrived like a lion. But it's the deafening sound of horsepower and not the lioness' roar that has racing fans in a March madness.

The refined horsepower harnessed under the hood will give way to the purest form of equine power on the hoof for back-to-back weekends of championship performances.

Just about the time the last car leaves the parking lot of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, racing fans will be jamming the enclosures of Las Vegas race books for a front-row seat in what promises to be a memorable renewal of the Santa Anita Handicap.

Unlike the competition of the Las Vegas 400 car race, there is a collision course coming this Saturday in Arcadia that is not only welcomed by the Sport of Kings, but has been anticipated by racing fans for a long time.

Ever since Silver Charm took us through his Camelot run of last year's Triple Crown and handicap star Gentlemen continued to reel off million-dollar victories in the senior division, racing fans and industry leaders were hoping that both stayed healthy and would meet on the track this year.

Silver Charm was shelved last year after his Belmont runner-up effort ended the Triple Crown quest in June, and Gentlemen suffered a season-ending setback after illness kept him out of the Breeders' Cup Classic following a dull outing at Woodbine last October.

Both were back in training and ready to resume their date with destiny by the opening of this current Santa Anita meet.

Silver Charm made his comeback with a troubled second in the opening-day feature Malibu Stakes against his peer classmates on Dec. 26. He followed that with a Jan. 17 victory in the Grade II San Fernando Stakes.

On Feb. 7, Silver Charm and Gentlemen took to the track at Santa Anita in separate races in final tune-ups for the Big Cap showdown. Gentlemen, making his first start of the year, won the Grade II San Antonio Handicap with an explosive move from an uncharateristic off-the-pace run that left a useful group of graded-stakes winners in his wake. Silver Charm came back two races later to post an impressive victory in the Grade II Strub Stakes at the same distance and completed his domination of the 4-year-old division.

The pair of powerful victories placed big, wide smiles on the faces of fans and management, but presented a pleasant dilemma for jockey Gary Stevens. The hot-riding rider, who turns 35 years old on Friday, is the regular partner of both Silver Charm and Gentlemen.

Although the recently elected president of the Jockey's Guild commented with a politically correct response that the showdown was good for racing, one could only wonder that privately he wished he didn't have to choose between them.

After a delayed decision, Stevens went with his heart and stayed with his Camelot mount Silver Charm. He leaves Genlemen with a record of seven victories of nine rides, while his partnership with Charm produced four wins and three seconds of seven races that include the Derby and Preakness last year in addition to their current two-race win streak.

Trainer Richard Mandella tapped jockey Pat Day to ride Gentlemen, leaving the local Southern California colony of riders considered in many circles to be the strongest in the world, citing the chance to finally employ his lifelong friend.

The granddaddy of handicap races could have been a super summit with the addition of Eclipse Award winner Skip Away. Last year's Breeders' Cup Clasic champ bypassed an invitation to Santa Anita for last Saturday's Gulfstream Park Handicap. Although victorious, he tired through the homestretch under high weight of 127 pounds to inferior rivals, leaving speculation that Skippy may have completed the trifecta to Gentlemen and Silver Charm in California.

While the Las Vegas 400 had an overflow field of 43 zooming around a Belmont Park-sized asphalt oval, the 61st renewal of America's first hundred-grand and later the first million-dollar handicap race will have less equine traffic traveling 266 fewer laps at the classic 11/4-mile distance.

But this Big Cap comes down to the showdown of Silver Charm and Gentlemen, although a field of seven or so is expected, mainly for the lucrative secondary awards.

It is appropriate that Silver Charm and Gentlemen meet for the first time in this Grade I event that has gained the reputation of the hardest handicap race to win in the world. The rich rivalries of the Big Cap read like a Who's Who of thoroughbred racing, and it has showcased the best of the sport since its inception, with Azucar taking that inaugural, in 1935.

The great Seabiscuit won it after three failed attempts in 1940, Noor beat Citation in 1950 and Round Table won in 1958. The following decade featured victories of Prove It in 1960, Mr. Consistency in '64, Hill Rise a year later, Pretense in '67 and Nodouble in '69. The '70s saw Ack Ack ('71), Cougar II ('73), Vigors ('78) and Affirmed ('79). Spectacular Bid was the first of the '80s, and John Henry became the only two-time winner with back-to-back scores in '81 and '82. Broad Brush in '87 and Alysheba the following year rounded out that decade.

This year, Mandella hopes to renew old friendships with the Santa Anita winner's circle and jocky Pat Day if Silver Charm isn't a Gentlemen.

RALPH SIRACO is turf editor of the SUN. His column appears Mondays and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Friday.