Columnist Ralph Siraco: And they’re off! Racing’s ‘second season’ begins

Ralph Siraco

Monday, July 12, 1999 | 10:03 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday, and his Southern California selections run Tuesday through Friday. Write to him c/o Las Vegas Sun, 800 S. Valley View, Las Vegas NV 89103.

Horse racing rolled into its second season just before the fireworks lit the skies of America, and with it came promises of a competitive run to the sport's championship showdown on Breeders' Cup day at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, Nov. 6.

Although the first half of the year has eliminated some of the top horses from competition, the second half will certainly yield some new stars.

Aspirations for another crack at the Breeders' Cup for handicap star Silver Charm were cut short as the sport's most recognizable runner prematurely retired after subpar performances earlier this year.

Free House, Silver Charm's most notable nemesis, is also sidelined after a brief return to the races, and it is uncertain if he will make the big show in Florida.

Puerto Madero, who won the first NTRA Champions on Fox series event with a victory in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in late January is gone, and a return by the promising Event of the Year also ended before the halfway mark.

This year's road through the Triple Crown produced few, if any, sophomores to contest the handicap division once Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Charismatic was retired after his heroic but career-ending try in the Belmont Stakes early June.

So, as we sit on the threshold of the dog days of summer, there are a trio of serious survivors still positioned to make a run at the Breeders' Cup Classic, and two of the three sit atop the NTRA Champions on Fox points leaderboard.

Behrens, who most recently won the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park a week ago, leads the Fox Champions with 28 points. His next engagement will be the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga. He will have to compete in the August 29 Grade I Pacific Classic at Del Mar to cash in on the bonus monies offered to the Fox series points-getters, although his connections have already indicated that the Breeders' Cup Classic is the main objective for the handicap division's new leader. If the Pacific Classic does not fit into the plans for Behrens' schedule, then there will be no visit to the seaside for the Eastern-based runner.

Real Quiet tightened the gap on the Fox leaderboard with a victory in the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup at the namesake track in late June. In addition to the winner's share of the $1 million purse, the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner racked up enough points to draw within six of Behrens. Unlike Behrens, Real Quiet's next objective is the $1 million Pacific Classic. Although the Whitney is an NTRA Champions on Fox series event, if Real Quiet wins the Del Mar Fox finale and Behrens does not compete at the beach, then Real Quiet can conceivably win the Fox Champions title. With Free House and Puerto Madero tied for third with 20 points and Silver Charm fifth with 16 points it is the top pair's championship to win.

Although Victory Gallop will not be able to garner a Fox spotlight, the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes runner-up does have 6 Fox points. And Victory Gallop's next start is scheduled to be the Whitney where he will face Behrens. A smashing victory in the Stephen Foster Handicap on June 12 left many experts gasping that the 1998 Belmont Stakes winner may have vaulted to the top of the handicap division. His main objective is also a start in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

The Whitney is also the next start for the useful and streaky Sir Bear. Eighth on the Fox leaderboard with 10 points, the Met Mile winner would have to bounce back with a good effort to bear Breeders' Cup Classic watching.

Running Stag could make another U. S. invasion based on his smashing victory in the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont Park on June 12 before jetting back across the pond. Remember he ventured to the States for a shot at the Breeders' Cup Classic last year.

Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid is scheduled to return to the racing wars on August 8 in either the Jim Dandy at Saratoga or the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on the same day. This late-blossoming sophomore could prove the Belmont was no fluke with another victory and catapult into the BC Classic picture.

Also heading for either or the same options on August 8 is Kentucky Derby runner-up Menifee. Disappointing in the Belmont Stakes, he could finally live up to his promise with a duplication of his Bluegrass Stakes victory in his next start. Trainer Elliot Walden would like nothing better than to have both Menifee and Victory Gallop fill the starting gate for the main attraction at Gulfstream on November 6.

Another promising prospect is Old Trieste. This son of A.P. Indy thrashed his competition in the May 29 Californian Stakes so badly that he single-handedly scared away competition for the Hollywood Gold Cup. Unfortunately, he developed an abscess and could not make the Gold Cup to the benefit of Real Quiet. Foot problems have prevented him from stringing many races together without layoffs, but if he shows up at Gulfstream in November beware.

The best contest on Breeders' Cup Day may very well come in the opener. This year Breeders' Cup officials have reshuffled the eight championship races with the Distaff as the first race in the series.

Traditionally the filly-and-mare showdown has assembled the smallest fields and produced the shortest priced winners over its 15-year history. This year, a titan clash of accomplished ladies may be in the offering.

Silverbulletday, who won the Monmouth Oaks in a virtual walkover on Saturday to extend her career record to 12-for-14, and Banshee Breeze, runner-up by a nose in last year's Distaff, are on a collision course in Florida. Silverbulletday may start next in the August 8 Haskell Invitational against the boys while Banshee Breeze is scheduled to compete in the Go For Wand at Saratoga on August 7.

With the Saratoga meet in upstate New York right around the corner and the Del Mar season less than two weeks away at the sea in Southern California, the second season promises to be a memorable one. And Breeders' Cup XVI should be another championship day at the races.